Nowhere to Run
by rusticangelic
Summary: Nowhere to Run focuses on the shattered lives of the teenagers of Junior Company as they are forced to flee their safe haven. Will this bunch of misfits ever make it to safety of the COG in Jacinto or are they destined to walk Sera as Stranded. Story is now completed!
1. Prologue

**I Present - Nowhere to Run – **

**The Tale of Junior Company.**

This fan fic follows the story of the children and teenagers of Junior Company, a centre where children are sent when they have lost one or both members of their family and their other members are unable to care for the child whilst they are fighting.

Here the children are schooled about the reality of the war surrounding them, giving them a little if somewhat programmed education and teaching them the essentials of combat. Junior Company is a glorified boot camp where the kids are put into groups and taught the importance of team work. Preparing them for when they reach an age where they will be sent to fight for the COG.

Nowhere to Run focuses on the shattered lives of the teenagers of Junior Company as the Locust invade the centre forcing them to flee their safe haven. Their journey leads them in search of Jacinto, unaware of the COG's plan to flood the city. Will this bunch of misfits ever make it to safety of the COG or are they destined to walk Sera as Stranded.

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

**One Month before the Sinking of Jacinto**

* * *

><p>"Here at Junior Company we treat our squads like family," Lieutenant Brewer recited to the apprehensive father sitting in the plastic chair opposite his desk. Brewer adjusted himself in his own executive chair, yes it was years old and he had bartered his wedding ring for it, but it was definitely worth it. "You have to understand that we've had children as young as a year old recruited into Junior Company; we've had to educate them to become adults in a world where their own COG employed parents cannot."<p>

The father glanced down at his small son, sitting on the seat next to him quivering, he was a scrawny little thing anyway; wiry arms, an immense mop of thick black hair and stick like legs that looked like it would snap rather easily. Rationing had taken an impact on him when he should have benefitted from essential vitamins at a young age. He hated to see his son look so malnourished.

"I have to reiterate to you Mr. Croker, Junior Company won't see front line action, they are purely trained here on a protection or scavenging basis. The kids are all trained in weapon basics and are taught to hold their own, but the most action they have is night watch or general security. Our job is to train them ready for when they reach a suitable age for combatant purposes. We have many children here who have lost a mother or a father and their only remaining guardian is currently out fighting. We are the safest option for your child. Here he will get three decent meals, hot water for washing, good quality clothing and a safe family environment. He will grow to see his squad as a family unit. And you never know, perhaps the next time you see your child he'll be out in the battlefield with you."

"That's the one place I would rather not see my son," the father responded sharply, "Lieutenant you must understand I am doing this because I don't have any other option. Since we lost his mother last week I've come to the conclusion that I can't leave my son on his own. I mean what kind of father would I be if I left a defenceless child to fend for himself. You are not the best option for my son, but you are the only one."

Brewer glanced down at the child, almost in disapproval, the boy was a runt, tiny in all possible ways. He had girls in the company bigger than this little thing, they were probably more competent as well. But the kid had potential, he was only twelve after all, he had plenty of growing to do. And besides he was being paid a hefty amount for the care of this little scrap.

"Your son will be looked after here at Junior Company, I can assure you that,"

The father slipped off his seat and knelt down beside his son, gently taking his hands and holding them tightly.

"David, you have to stay here for a while, daddy has to go back and fight,"

"But why," the shaking little boy whimpered, "I want to go with you."

"Sweetheart where I am going, you can't follow," he spoke softly to his son, "you will be looked after here, plenty of children for you to be with. You will be safe here."

The boy's chestnut brown eyes filled with tears as he gripped his father's hands tighter, "Please daddy, I don't want to go, I want to stay with you."

Brewer pulled his eyes away from the scene, he had seen it so many times before, kids too scared to leave their parents to even understand that this was a safer option than leaving them on their own. If he had been more of a paternal man he probably would have knelt down and tried to reassure the boy, but there wasn't much he could say to the boy that would calm him. The truth was this may be the last time the kid may ever see his father, this was effectively the last goodbye. Most of the kids never saw their parents again after being turned over to his care. How could you even begin trying to explain that to a small twelve year old boy who had only just lost his mother. Instead he did the only thing that was expected of him, he rose to his feet slowly made his way towards father and son.

"I'll be waiting outside when you are ready,"

The father looked up at him, tears in his eyes and nodded, "Of course, I'm going to need a minute with him."

Brewer gave him a slight nod and continued out the door towards the courtyard, taking a seat outside. It was too early to hear any kids playing; the innocent sounds of them laughing and squealing. He could see the sleeping quarters from his position, no movement just yet, but it was only a matter of time. Did they see him as a father figure, or just some wannabe injured ex-soldier who had nothing better to do in his life than boss kids around from a young age? He glanced down at his prosthetic hand, his life had been destroyed the day those Indies had taken half his squad down, now all he had was some plastic hand and an orphanage. It wasn't as if he had any of his own children to pass his legacy down to, just some unwanted kids with issues.

"I think he's ready," the father's broken voice sounded behind him in the doorway, breaking him from his train of thought, "I've left him in your office. I just can't go back to him."

Tears streaked his face, as he wiped his reddened eyes, he glanced momentarily back down the corridor at the sounds of mournful crying. It broke his heart.

"Just promise me one thing," he said, "that you look after my son."

"Mr. Croker," Brewer responded, "I'll promise you that once we're done with your son, he won't need to be looked after."

The father slowly made his way down the steps into the courtyard, he took one last stuttered breath and walked away from him towards the rest of his life. Brewer watched as he disappeared around the building, the slumped figure of a broken man. He had seen so many of them, that he had stopped hurting each time now. Instead he returned to his office to the wreak of a child weeping his eyes out. The little boy looked up at him pleadingly, running his sleeve against his snotty nose, tears staining his cheeks.

"Please Mr, I want to be with my daddy," he sniffed

"Son, this is going to be tough for you for a while, but it will get easier." He said softly before reasserting himself, "We're going to send you to have a medical check, once the physician has cleared you we'll set you up with a squad. Welcome to the future kid."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes-<strong>

Thanks for taking the time to read this labour of love. It has been an up and down struggle to actually get my point across and my writing has dramatically altered throughout. So I have opted to rewrite the entire piece. For those poor sods who have already read it I apologise in advance as there are a few developmental chapters that I have worked on to embellish characters. The good news. The story is in fact complete so once I have finished updating the current chapters those of you who have continued reading will at least have an ending.

If you're still reading this, thank you so much, at least I know my insane rambling isn't that bad.


	2. Chapter 1: Aidan

**Chapter One - Aidan**

* * *

><p>A fresh breeze wafted through the window. Someone had wedged the window pane partially open during the night letting the ragged curtain billow into the air before settling against the window sill. A scent of chargrilled burning lifted lightly in the air. She had to stop linking the smell of burning to dead bodies, but it was too hard to keep any horrific image from her head.<p>

Aidan stirred groggily before slowly opening one eye suspiciously to the surroundings around her. She cast her vision upon the sleeping form of her twin brother in the neighbouring bunk. His hefty form slumped messily across his bed and his arms draped over his head as if in surrender. Every now and again he would let out a grumbled snore before turning over with a thump. His ruffled blond hair caked with grime, dirt and she dare not think what else from the previous day. He had obviously been too tired to shower before he was taken by the temptation of sleep.

She turned over in her own bunk to face the wall. Closing her eyes to allow her other senses to free themselves in the few minutes of silence she would allow herself as the morning breeze drifted over her. Tingles etched their way down her spine. She was rarely allowed to relax these days, taking in the simplicity of life amongst the world's other complexities. A chance to relax before life decided to take over. Just a few more minutes taking in precious little sleep before the Lieutenant barged his way into their morning once again.

She let out a sigh. Apparently she was awake now and her body was refusing to let her succumb to slumber any more. She yawned as she drew herself to a sitting position and gazed wearily around the room. Her group snored and dozed in various stages of sleep. All strewn across their own beds regardless of rank, gender or age.

Reluctantly she gained the energy needed to flop her legs out of bed and land awkwardly on the ground. Bundling her wash bag in her arms she slowly padded barefoot towards the shower cubicles. She stood for a moment looking around at the cubicles, picking one at random and sliding the temperamental lock on the door. Slowly she slipped her clothing off her body, letting it tumble to her feet whilst she examined her new wounds from the previous day. There was a new slash reaching from her belly to her outer thigh. It stung as she prodded it. She withdrew her fingers staring down at the slash, wondering how she was going to explain herself this time for these new wounds. One of the main problems with working with sharp weapons means very little margin of error. Especially when you aren't particularly any good with a knife. Luckily the wounds weren't going to be as visible as most of her scars, this at least she could hide until it healed. She picked up her clothes and draped it over the cubicle door, opening her wash bag and turning on the shower.

Good Lord that was cold

She let in a breath to steady herself in the cold running water as it drenched her completely. Her eyes instinctively closed to take in the moment as she ran her hands through her hair letting the golden strands splash against her neck. She picked up the soap and ran it over her body, gently running her suddy fingertips over her new wounds. Footsteps jolted her from her bubble and she stood silently in the cascade of cold water.

"Jeez Aidan, don't you ever sleep," a tired voice called into the room, she recognised it well.

"A lie in is overrated," she responded, allowing herself to relax with present company, "Anyway I left you all sleeping Frost."

"Light sleeper remember," she heard her companion close the shower cubicle beside her and turn on the water, "Bloody Hell its cold today."

"You get used to it," she glanced down at the goose bumps on her arms, yeah right.

"Bollocks,"

Washington Frost had been with Aidan since day one. He was a few years older than her, not that it mattered these days. As far as he was concerned he and Aidan were one and the same. Although he did have a soft spot for her, like a protective older brother, much to her own twin brother's contempt.

He had been one of many toddlers dumped on the doorstep of Junior Company, her included. Their parents had been unable to provide care for them and with the only other option of leaving them at the mercy of the Locust they took the option of handsomely paying to have them housed elsewhere. Their childhood had become a glorified boot camp. The Lieutenant had gone on and on about how it was preparing them for the future and when they reach the right age to fight as Gears they will be ready for it. Frost had embraced it, like most eager young impressionable boys. He relished the opportunity to lead a group and encourage the children around him.

Aidan couldn't stand the false hope.

The only thing she was grateful for was not being part of the breeding farms. Granted her father had had an influence in keeping her out of those places and making sure she was kept with her brother. There wasn't much she was thankful to her father for, but that was another story.

She finished up in the shower, turning off the faucet and towel dried herself as quickly as possible.

"Eli on late shift?" Frost called from his own cubicle, she could hear the water splash off him and the smell of carbolic soap filled the air.

"He was on late watch yeah," she responded as she pulled on fresh clothing over her dampish body. She unlocked her cubicle and perched herself on a stool to run a brush through her hair, whilst waiting for Frost to finish, "He volunteered though."

"Yeah well Eli always was a workaholic," Frost had never hidden his indifference for Eli. It was something Aidan found hard to understand, why someone got on so well with one twin and not at all with the other.

The water stopped and she could hear the towel rub against his skin, he left the cubicle with only a towel wrapped around his waist and a smirk on his face. He towered over her, all of his six plus feet, in comparison to her measly five. His gently tanned skin and smoothly round muscles, he was a man at eighteen, caught in a world where he was still partly a child. The younger kids frequently mistook him as one of the adults, shaking in their little boots whilst he was around. But to Aidan he was her best friend and the closest thing to family she was ever going to get.

Apart from her own twin of course.

"Please Frost," she laughed, "you keep walking around like that and you're going to give yourself a complex."

"Walk around like what?" he asked innocently, "I've just had an ice shower, I've got an excuse. And besides I see no one else here except you."

"You just like the idea of Co-ed shower rooms too much,"

She slipped off the stool and walked in front of him to the sleeping quarters, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of even looking at his semi naked body for any longer. She opened the small drawer next to her bedside, averting her eyes whilst Frost dressed behind her, and bundled the wash bag inside. She had very few belongings, mostly second hand clothing from other children who had moved on to battle and left the establishment, the only thing she had ever kept close was a scrawled note that had been attached to her as a baby, the day her and her brother were found on the doorstep of the training base. It had outlined strict instructions to their care and wellbeing, and to be fair to Lieutenant Brewer he had pretty much kept his word to honour the instructions. Whoever their father had been he had left a hefty amount of money, granted all of it was useless these days.

She perched herself on the bed to strap her boots on, Washington was busy layering armour over his shoulders, strapping it tightly in place. She stifled a snigger as she turned away.

"Okay why are you laughing?" he questioned sceptically.

"Come on Frost," she smirked, "Armour? You must be kidding me right."

"Yeah well I gotta keep practising, it won't be long before they call me up to active service. I don't want to be the only Gear out there who doesn't know how to wear his armour correctly,"

She thumped to the floor and strode over to him, "trust me Frost, you've been in training for eighteen years, I doubt you will be useless."

She carried on past him to the doorway, to be as far away as possible from him until she could regain her composure. As much as she wanted to avoid the inevitable it was only a matter of time before Frost was called up to service and it was something she knew would break her heart. She slouched against the wall outside to take in the fresh air. She wasn't going to cry, she had done that so many times in the past and it had kind of lost its intentional meaning, she just hurt inside instead.

The sound of crunching gravel on heavy boots alerted her, she looked up to see the Lieutenant making his way towards her with a small kid following behind in his shadow.

"You're up early," he grunted, watching as she stood up straight and saluted him.

"Couldn't sleep sir," she responded.

"Can you wake the group, I have a new recruit," he said it as an order, she let out a sigh and returned to the quarters to break the bad news to her unit.


	3. Chapter 2: Washington

**Chapter Two – Washington**

* * *

><p>The bed buckled under his over encumbered weight, he finished buckling up his boots as he attempted to stand up. He wished it wasn't so damn heavy. He'd been doing this routine every day since the Lieutenant had given him the armour in readiness to become a fully fledged Gear. It was just a matter of waiting for the call now. He stood stretching each arm out, bending each knee and taking steady steps. He only ever did this when the rest of his unit were sleeping. It was bad enough that Aidan had to witness his dress-up attempts most mornings, so he certainly didn't want to make the situation worse than it already was.<p>

He could hear her footsteps in the corridor. She was lighter on her feet than most of the kids in their Compound, but even heavy boots make a loud clunking noise with the lightest of steps. She paused for a moment, her eyes hiding behind a vast mop of blonde fringe, but he could tell she was looking at the armour again.

"Brewer wants the group awake, looks like he's had another kid dumped on us," she said huffily and turned from him.

He started to unbuckle the armour plating, "It's always good to have new recruits."

"You make it sound like we had a choice," she snapped.

She had always been touchy about new children coming into Junior Company, especially the older ones as they had had a family before being sent away for their protection. Family was something she had always been vastly jealous of. Granted she had grown up with her own twin brother and Frost, but this never seemed enough for Aidan, it was the fact that she had never had any parents to call her own that she hated.

"Just wake Eli, I'll sort out the others," he responded, trying his best not to rise to Aidan's snipes. It was an argument that he knew was coming and he was going to try his hardest to avoid it until she eventually snapped. He pulled the rest of his armour off before pushing it under the safety of his bunk, pulling on his normal boots and shirt, so his group were none the wiser of his actions. He cleared his throat before shouting at the top of his voice, "Attention Recruits Wake Up! You are urgently requested in the courtyard!"

"Frost it's like 6am!" a drowsy retort came from Angelo from his bunk, "come on, give a guy a break. Some of us were on late shifts."

"Yeah, don't really care," Frost responded confidently. There was a reason why he was in charge of this group, Brewer had told him it would teach him how to be an efficient soldier and it was something he took seriously, "No excuses, Lieutenant Brewer's orders front and centre guys."

It took a while but he managed to herd most of the lazier kids out of their bed and out into the courtyard. He glanced down the line, counting out the ones from his own group and took his place beside Aidan. Eli, considering he had only had a few hours sleep looked considerably awake for an early morning wake up. He nodded at Frost and turned to look at the Lieutenant. He didn't know why but for some reason everything about Eli rubbed him up the wrong way, the fact he was always out to please everyone. As if he had no problems in the world. He couldn't understand why Eli's twin sister was so damaged by their childhood and yet he wore it like never mattered. Okay granted Eli and Frost had clashed a few times over Aidan, but that was a completely different thing. Wasn't it?

The Lieutenant cleared his throat, silencing the children around him. The more alert of the group, stood to attention and watched him eagerly.

"Today we welcome David Croker to the confines of Junior Company," he announced, "you will treat him like the brothers and sisters around you and you will help him become part of this family."

Brewer turned to Frost marching over to him, "Frost, I want you to take care of Croker within your unit, you and the twins are by far the more experienced of the Company, he will be well suited with you."

Aidan groaned next to him, he had to stop himself from smiling as Eli nudged her to silence her. They were the most predictive pair he had ever encountered and he loved the way they always played it out. Aidan would give the kid the hardest time by dosing him down with sarcasm and Eli would calm him with his kindness. It often made Frost wonder what sort of kids they would have been if they had had a secure family to grow up with, who did they take after? He guessed he would never know.

Brewer chose to ignore the retorts of the twins, it was something he had learnt to do. He had a soft spot for the three of them. They were after all his longest serving team and the best chance that the little boy had at surviving.

"Frost gather your group and make introductions. Get him a bunk sorted and get your group ready for the day's training," he said, "The rest of you, get yourselves cleaned and prepared for the day."

He pushed the small boy in Frost's direction and left them, marching quickly back to his office.

Frost looked down at the kid, he was tiny, granted most children at Junior Company had benefitted from good food and a protected life, but this little boy looked like he'd been chewing on nothing but dust most of his life. He smiled at him as best as he could without looking aggressive then signalled for his group to gather around the child.

"Welcome to our unit kid," he began, "I'm kinda the group leader..."

"Ego much," Aidan snorted with a laugh, "Let me dust your boots for you. Oh worthy leader."

"There are five of us in total, well six now including you," he purposefully ignored her and the sniggering from the group, "I'm Washington Frost, then we have Angelo, Lem and our twins Elijah and Aidan."

The boy cast his eyes across the group settling finally upon Aidan and offered a shaking little hand.

"David," he said in a small mouse like voice, "Isn't Aidan meant to be a boy's name?"

"Bite me," she snapped, ignoring his offer of friendship and strode away.

"You'll have to ignore her," Eli stepped in and shook the boy's hand carefully, "she has issues. I'm Eli, please don't ever call me Elijah or I'll have to kill you."

Frost left his group to see to the new recruit and made his way after Aidan. She had marched her way behind one of a teaching buildings and was busy hitting the wall with her fist in anger. He grabbed her hand before she could do anymore damage to herself.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" he demanded.

"What the hell's wrong with me? What about you, all kiss ass and what not," she snapped, wrestling her hand out of his and thrusting them in her pockets, "He's just a snotty little brat whose parents couldn't look after him so they dump him here expecting us to accept him."

"Which we will," he asserted himself, "Aidan we're the lucky ones here. We won't ever remember our parents, so we won't understand the pain of losing them. That kid back there has just lost both his, and he probably won't ever see them again. So stop thinking you've had the raw end of the deal here and start acting like the sixteen year old experienced member of Junior Company."

"He's got enough of that from Eli surely that's enough for him to handle," she responded, "that's about as experienced as he's going to get from me."

"Yeah, but we've all got some pretty good individual qualities that David can benefit from,"

"Why should he benefit, what is he ever going to give me that I'm going to benefit from in return?"

"You're so selfish Aidan, when did that happen,"

"Since when have you been the boss of everyone?" she said, turning from him to walk away, then deciding against it and turned back towards him. Fire flickered in her ice blue eyes and he sensed an argument oncoming, "I work twice as hard as you, always have always will. But you're always the leader, go figure the injustice on that one."

"This isn't a game Aida, this is serious," he turned to her, using her affectionate name. He knew she hated it especially when she wanted to argue with him, "At the end of the day Brewer wants someone who can lead the group, not someone who's petulant at everyone."

"Ooh look who swallowed a dictionary,"

"Precisely my point," he calmed himself, "Look you are the best one out there, which is why you're my perfect right hand gal. You are I, we're a team."

"We're a team until you decide that this place isn't good enough for you and you're too much of an adult to stay here anymore. We're a team until you say we aren't,"

"That isn't true, and you know it." This had always been her issue, it's just he was only hearing about it now, this was the first time she'd officially admitted it to him, "You and I, we aren't just a group of kids dumped in an orphanage, we're a family. We always will be."

Before she could snap back he grabbed hold of her and held her tightly, pinning her arms to her side. She was scared of losing him, if she lost him she'd lose the remainder of her family and he'd never intentionally want to do that to her. He felt her reluctantly relax in his hold.

"You may not be my blood relative, like Eli is to you, but you are my sister. And nothing will change that."


	4. Chapter 3: Eli

**Chapter Three – Eli**

* * *

><p>The boy flinched as Eli placed a hand on his back, he quickly withdrew it and smiled in surrender.<p>

Not to self, do not touch.

"It's okay kid, we don't bite,"

"Well Aidan does but as long as you've had your shots, she's harmless," Angelo smirked, nudging Lem.

The boy looked at them, his dark chocolate brown eyes now red raw from crying, assessing the group he had been given.

"How long have you all been here?" he sniffed.

"Well Aidan and I have been here a little over fifteen years. She could probably give you an exact time, it's not like I'm counting months or anything. Frost is pretty much the same, he arrived a couple of months after us. Then we have Lem and Gelo who arrived here together after their town was taken over by locust about five years ago,"

"Where are your parents, haven't they come back for you?"

"My folks were killed," Lem stated matter of fact. For a fifteen year old he pretty much understood his own mortality and the fate of his family. He had stopped denying it the day he had to drag his friend from under the bodies of his own parents.

"Berserker wiped mine out, plus what was left of our town. Lem and I went in search of the only place we heard would give us a chance," Angelo agreed turning to his friend and sending him a look of understanding.

"This is our family now," Eli smiled, slowly making his way towards the sleeping quarters, "let's get you a bunk sorted. Lem can you haggle a bunk from Mike's unit? One of theirs left recently so I know they've got available bunks, we'll just move it into our section, Gelo why don't you give him a hand?"

The pair headed off to the neighbouring quarters, chattering between themselves as they went.

"Everyone hates me," David squeaked, "They're all talking about me."

"We haven't had anyone new here for a while, you have to understand your arrival hits a raw nerve for some." Eli reassured, "Don't worry, they'll come round."

"I didn't ask to be here," the boy plonked himself down on a random bunk and pulled his knees up to his chest, "I'd much rather be with my daddy."

"I doubt that somehow," Eli commented as he sat on his own bunk, "your dad's a Gear, he's going to be on the front line fighting locust. How is he ever going to protect you and himself if you're with him."

"He'll find a way," David retorted, letting the tears slide down his cheek again.

"Maybe he already tried, and this was the safest option,"

The sound of clunking and scraping came down the corridor along with the cursing and swearing of Lem and Angelo.

"Damn this is heavy,"

"Why the hell are you trying to carry it you loon,"

"It makes too much noise if I drag it, ouch pick it up Gelo that hurts my ears,"

"Sissy,"

"Put that down and say that to my face!"

"But you told me to pick the damn bed up!"

Eli let out a sigh and slowly plodded towards the door where the pair were now wrestling over the bed. Lem had grabbed hold of Angelo's hair and yanked on it, whilst the Angelo was pulling Lem's arm back.

"You fight like a girl Lem!" Angelo growled, "You been taking lessons from Aidan again?"

"Guys cut it out, we'll help you now," he called back to the boy, "Hey Dave, you wanna give us a hand before Gelo and Lem break something."

David quietly tiptoed over to them and tried his best to pick up one side by Lem. The rest of the group lifted and they carried the bed into their sleeping quarters and plonked it down by the wall.

"There's a cupboard spare, Mike said we could take it," Angelo said as he headed back out of room.

Eli sat back on his bed to watch Lem pull some spare bed sheets from his own cupboard and handed it over to David.

"Here you can borrow these until we can sort some for you from the Lieutenant," he smiled.

"Thank you," David gave him a genuine smile as he placed his small bag of belongings on his new bunk. Setting himself down he pulled out a photo and looked intently at it before letting out a stuttered breath.

Eli laid his head on his pillow for a moment, closing his eyes to relax. He didn't mind new people coming into Junior Company, it was all the pain the new kids felt each time that got to him. He remembered the distress Lem and Angelo had been in when they barely made it into the courtyard five years ago. They had been quarantined in the medical suite for a few months because they were riddled with diseases and the Lieutenant didn't want to risk passing anything infectious on to the other children.

What hurt Eli most was his sister's reaction to new recruits. She was frosty to people outside her inner circle anyway, but new children were never even acknowledged. He was aware of the jealousy that his sister had frequently experienced, he too had been guilty of it at least once. But it concerned him that her fears were dominating her ability to move on and grow up.

There was only one person who could calm his sister and unfortunately Eli hated the fact that it wasn't him. Ever since they were little Aidan and Washington had been inseparable. He always knew the right things to say to her, whilst Eli always fell short. He had always thought he'd be the only one to understand his twin sister, instead he was the one to step back and let his team leader steal the spot light.

"Seriously guys, why haven't you moved your asses to class," Frost's voice drew him to consciousness. He opened one eye to look at his team leader who was standing with his arms folded looking threatening.

"We're on our way," Eli murmured as he slipped himself off his bed, glancing over to the kid who was looking lost again, "we're just letting Dave settle in."

"Dave can settle in that's fine, but I'm sure you guys have had enough time to settle in." Frost was acting more and more like an adult these days, probably spurred on by his impending call to the front line. Eli hated him for even wanting to leave their little family group, knowing how much it was going to break his sister.

Lem groaned as he stomped down the corridor muttering to himself making it clear that class was the last thing he wanted. Angelo, who had managed to carry a small drawer unit to their sleeping quarters, took a breather before sending Frost a look of contempt and followed after him. Eli slowly plodded up to Frost.

"You coming as well or are you now exempt from educational duties?"

"No one is exempt, I'll come in with David once he's ready to face everyone," Frost responded, not looking Eli in the eye and fixing his stare on the wall behind him.

Insolent asshole.

Eli let out a sigh and made his way down the poorly whitewashed corridor to the school room, where a vast group of children, regardless of age, sat on a mixture of chairs and on the floor. Usually the older kids managed to take priority over the seats so the little ones were left on the stone floor to scrawl on paper, fidgeting to find a comfortable seat and failing. The instructor perched herself on a desk talking to the children about biology. Pictures of cells were scrawled across the blackboard in chalk, sometimes kids had to experience some normality in their life. Even if it was boring class sessions. Eli took a seat beside Aidan, who was looking quite closed off considering she had only just flipped out not long ago.

Here we go again, an eternity of trying to bring Aidan back to the real world.

"Elijah?" The instructor asked, looking at him closely. She rose from the desk placing a protective hand over her bulging belly, it seemed the only women who ever came to Junior Company Compound were in various stages of pregnancy. As if encouraging any interested fertile girls of child bearing age that this was the way to support the war effort. Girls had even been herded off into rooms and told all about these wonderful 'birthing centres' where they would be looked after day and night. Eli was just thankful that Lieutenant Brewer had kept Aidan out of any of these sessions. Luckily with a name like Aidan she blended into the crowd filled with willing Mollies and Daisies.

"Yes Ma'am," Eli responded looking the instructor in the eye. Just because she was helping out with her part of the bigger picture there was no reason not to treat her like a person. After all it wasn't her fault that human kind was basically going extinct.

He had to stop thinking like this. He was sixteen, why did he keep thinking such terrible and morbid things? Surely at this age he should be thinking about dating and flirting with girls. But if that happened surely the COG would probably encourage him to start breeding with them afterwards. But then this wasn't a normal world.

Aidan poked him in the ribs, bringing him back to reality, realising that he'd drifted off whilst being berated by his teacher.

"Elijah is everything alright, you seem distant?" the instructor asked, a concerned look crossed her face.

"Sorry Ma'am, I had a late night last night. I'm not entirely awake," he responded with a half hearted smile, glancing across at his sister who wasn't buying any of his excuses, a smirk on her face in response.

"Well make sure you have an early one tonight," the instructor tutted, "kids your age need plenty of sleep, you can make up for it when you're a Gear."


	5. Chapter 4: Lem

**Chapter Four – Lem**

* * *

><p>Lem sat watching the teacher, his eyes fixed on her and nodding every so often as if in understanding. Truth was Lem wasn't really listening at all. He had worked pretty hard at pretending, and was proud of his refined skill. The problem was that no one actually ever knew when he was taking any information in. It wasn't that he was daydreaming. It was more the fact that his brain had spent so long protecting him from the horrors around him that it was almost permanently switched off.<p>

He glanced across at Angelo who smirked back at him whilst he was chewing on a piece of paper and spitting it through a small tube. Letting it splat against the neck of the little girl in front of him. She turned in disgust, placing a hand on the back of her neck and whining in response.

Before their lives had changed Lem had both detested and pitied Angelo. He had been the village bully, the kid whose parents had been notorious alcoholics and had frequently beat their son. The poor kid had no other option than to reflect his anguish onto others. Lem had led an entirely different life, brought up under the close protection of his loving family with two older brothers and a little sister. There were days even he wondered how two very different people had become so close.

It was funny how the end of the world brought people together.

Aidan sat beside him, sighing every so often at the teacher, then scribbling frantically on a piece of paper that had been used so many times that she was now writing between lines from a previous class. Her golden blonde hair clung in gentle wavy strands around her neck and her fringe hung scruffily over her eyes as she kept blowing the strands away. She was one of the few girls he felt truly comfortable being around. Probably because she wasn't really like any other girl he had ever known.

A silence fell over the room as Frost accompanied David into the room. He herded the kid to the front and sat him down on the floor, watching under the eager eyes of the teacher and children as he turned to the row of chairs and made his way to one closest to his group. Kids respected Frost, apart from the fact that he was the eldest at Junior Company not to be called to service, he had his feet firmly on the ground and treated all the children with the same regard as he expected to be treated. He towered over everyone as the child sitting in his seat slowly slipped off and onto the floor sheepishly. He sat down heavily before heaving the child up under his arms and placing him on his lap to observe the rest of the class.

Lem had been relieved that Frost was his group leader. He and Aidan had found both him and Angelo partly unconscious just outside the Centre's gates that fateful day. There was something admirable about a guy who could rally a group of kids together. Maybe it was because Frost had been one of the lucky ones, being brought up in the safety of the Centre rather than fleeing for it. He had never witnessed the horror first hand.

Lem searched the floor for the new boy and found him scooting along the ground on his bum making his way towards them, eventually settling nearby. It was funny how you searched for the friendliest face and stuck with them for life. Clearly David had found a need to rely on his new group. Lem sent him a smile remembering the time when he'd been in the same position as the new kid. Granted he'd had Angelo to rely on, but they were both essentially outcasts in a group of so many. It was hard to believe that it was actually Aidan who had offered the hand of friendship that time, much to the shock of Frost and Eli. Perhaps she had been so moved by their state when they had first arrived to the centre.

He had never considered himself Stranded, he had been in Jacinto with his family the day the Hammer struck. He had been one of the lucky ones, if you call stuck living in a car lucky. But for some reason his father had always felt guilty that he'd been given that opportunity when so many hadn't. It was at this point his father had dragged his entire family back out into the wilderness of Ephyra to witness the horrors around them and understand how lucky they really were, returning to their old town to see the damage for themselves. Some had survived; Angelo and his family had been part of a few that sheltered underground in an Imulsion mine. Lem's father vowed never to return to Jacinto, driven mad by the choices he had made and instead opted to help out those less fortunate. By the time his brothers were old enough they upped and left to join the COG. They weren't there the day the Berserker attacked the town. They didn't have to see their loving family torn apart by monsters.

Lem had never blamed his father for their eventual situation, a madness brought on by guilt was not something you could blame someone for. But it was his sister's death that had hurt him the most, she was only five at the time and unable to protect herself from the monsters. He lived in the hope that his brothers were still safe, out there in the ether fighting as soldiers, unaware that their little brother was safe and well. Lem preferred it that way, the last thing he wanted was his brothers risking their lives to save him. Not that he needed saving. He wasn't the weaker little brother anymore, he had learnt to protect himself.

Looking down at David he realised that he now had a little brother to look after. Someone who would rely on them for safety, who needed the security that their group provided. Something that Lem finally understood the day he and Angelo left the medical bay and were introduced to the group. The difference was that now he could protect David unlike how powerless he was to protect his little sister. He would never forget how it felt holding her in his arms. Her precious life draining from her body each second he held her close to him as if will alone would keep her alive. It took a while for him fully understand that she was never coming back, holding her close as her blood stained his clothes. He never understood how the Locust had missed him that day.

He kept thinking how fate kept throwing luck at him and wondered how, before the bad luck set in, he was willing to accept it for a while.

As they bustled their way to the next class - physical education - he let the younger ones lead the way into the courtyard. The instructor had planned out a route within the safety of the Compound to put each child through their paces. There had been a time when he had taken it so seriously that he would push himself to run at the front of the group. But shortly after learning that Angelo was suffering from the early onset of Rustlung, which meant that he could not run like he used to, he opted to take his time and remain with his friend. One of the good things about having Frost as a group leader was that he refused to let anyone come last and would insist on jogging quite casually behind everyone. It had become a ongoing joke. Everyone knew that he was the fittest in the Centre as he always went out jogging early in the morning before anyone else saw him. But he was quite happy to underperform in front of teachers.

David closed in beside him, "where are we going?" he asked nervously as if the idea of moving around scared him too much.

"Physical Education, don't worry stay with us, it's not really a competition or anything, the Lieutenant likes to make sure we stay as fit as possible,"

"I don't feel like running today," the boy whimpered, "Do I have to do it."

"Course you do," Angelo interrupted gently nudging him along, "No room for wimps here."

"I'm not a wimp," the boy looked like he was going to burst into tears again.

"Well don't make it worse for yourself then,"

"I'm sorry but I've just lost my daddy, and I don't feel like running around,"

"Yeah well 'Daddy' ain't coming back," Angelo snapped, quickly snapping a hand to his mouth, regretting his words the moment they left his mouth.

David's bottom lip jutted out and quivered slightly, his eyes widened in shock at Angelo's words.

"For goodness sake Gelo," Eli scolded, scooping his arm round David, "Look kid, we're a family here, we accept each other no matter what. Remember we've all lost our family."

"Cheers," Aidan put in behind him, he carried on regardless to her retorts.

"You'll have to ignore what we say sometimes, we seriously don't mean it to our own family. It's just that Angelo is still training to be nice, he doesn't really know what nice is like. If you want nice stick with me or Lem,"

David glanced over at Angelo who looked back apologetically, his hands in the air in surrender.

"Sorry," he responded genuinely.

"This isn't fair," he whimpered, "I didn't ask to get sent here. I don't want to get laughed at."

"We understand," Lem added, "If anyone understands your situation it'll be the kids here."

He offered his hand out to the boy, clasping it lightly in his own, it was bony and cold to touch. He sent him a smile in reassurance.

"Trust me, this will get your mind off things I'm sure."


	6. Chapter 5: Angelo

**Chapter Five - Angelo**

* * *

><p>Angelo jogged slowly beside Lem, watching every footstep the other made as he chattered to the new boy. He hated himself for wanting to keep so close to another person. There was definitely something wrong when you relied so much on one person that you feared losing sight of them.<p>

Angelo could never understand why, out of all people, Lem was the one he had fixated his newfound need for friendship on. He had always hated Lem. Too perfect for his liking - perfect parents with two perfect older brothers and the perfect kid sister - it was almost too easy. He was the perfect target. It was only typical that he was the one who saved him from the Locust attack years later. Covered in his kid sister's blood as he pulled him out from under his parents' bodies, the stench of death thick in the air. It had only been a matter of time before the Locust had invaded their protected little town. It made him wonder, considering how easily their defences had been taken down, how they had managed to survive ten years in their town. Maybe the Locust had been biding their time after all and they had never really had a chance in the first place.

All he knew was that Lem was the first person to ever show him a hint of decency, regardless of how he had treated him in the past. It was a shame that it had taken an army of Locust and a Berserker to realise this. It had been the best thing that had ever happened to Angelo, having Locust destroy his parents, the people who beat him on a regular basis - their death had been his freedom. He would have celebrated if it wasn't for the fact that the process had destroyed an entire town.

He found it hard to comprehend that he and Lem were the only survivors from such a large town.

And all he could do was cry from the relief.

It had taken them a week of just blindly walking and listening to Lem chatter on and on about a safe haven called Junior Company, a place where they would be protected. Of course Angelo never believed him, he was the geek who had spent way too much time with his head in a book to look at the real world. Maybe Lem had been working off instinct, or maybe he had always known where to go, but the kid had found the place. On the outskirts of Ephyra, huge sandblasted walls with stuccoed detail of the Allfathers etched across it, the Compound buildings safely nestled inside it. Angelo had fallen to his knees almost in prayer, if he had been a praying person. Starvation and exhaustion had ceased his legs from moving any further and caused him to collapse so close to the gates. Lem had tried his best to take hold of him and drag him, but his body had other intentions and refused him to go any further.

It had been fate that Washington and Aidan had been in the courtyard that morning, if they hadn't have seen the two boys collapse at the gates they would have certainly died.

They had one visitor the entire time they were in the hospital suite, Lieutenant Brewer had sat patiently watching them as the doctors monitored their progress. Cut off from the world for months they had no one else to turn to but each other.

Angelo came out a different person and his understanding for Lem had altered dramatically. This nerd of a kid had saved his life more times than he could count and found the safe haven they needed. Granted Lem had become a lot more withdrawn, spending most of his time switched off, his brain saving him from the actual horrors he would be forced to admit that kept his mind working.

Five years later and Angelo was glad he couldn't remember his father's face, why should he remember the man who used to smash his face against the wall for just being around him. Instead he had a strongly bonded unit that he felt he could be accepted, a group that just understood the reasons behind why he could be just him.

He felt his lungs tighten for a moment as his breathing became shallower. He stopped, placing his hands on his hips to allow himself to catch a breath. As if on cue Frost was beside him, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, not pressurising him to push himself. He glanced up for a moment as he sucked in another breath of air and noticed the rest of his group were lingering around him, not trying to make themselves look overly concerned to attract the attention of the instructors but enough for him to appreciate their presence. Eli had hoisted Aidan onto his back and was trotting around in circles. She was laughing herself stupid, which was a rarity for her but then there were only two people who could make Aidan laugh and Angelo wasn't going to start trying now. Lem had somehow managed to tie his left leg to the new boy's right leg and they were lolloping around the twins. Lem had successfully managed to do what he did best and got the boy to finally smile, although sheepish it was most definitely a smile. Slowly he felt his breath returning to him. The sludge inside his lungs easing slightly as the oxygen slowly reached its destination. Somehow his new adopted family had made coping with Rustlung so much easier to accept. He had always had a weakness in his lungs made worse from the numerous times his deceased family had hidden underground surrounded by the imulsion fumes. The lightmass bomb had only made his condition worse.

"Hey Frost," Aidan called from her brother's back, "Why don't you give Gelo a piggyback. If you're ever going to get used to wearing that armour now would be a good time to practice with extra weight."

"What are you trying to say?" Angelo retorted in between breaths.

"I will if you will, Aida" Frost responded with a smirk.

"You got yourself a deal," she leapt off her brother as if he was nothing more than a horse, bounced around him and hoisted him up onto her back. She staggered forwards a few steps then backwards whilst Eli wriggled about on her back, "Ouch stop wriggling Eli."

"I would if you gave me the chance to prepare myself," Eli muttered as he dug his heels into her waist.

Frost sent Angelo a smile, "How about it hombre, fancy going one on one with the twins?"

Angelo looked to Frost patiently waiting for his response then at the other members of his group, Lem had now stopped with the new boy and was watching the twins tottering around. How had they managed to turn a break for him to catch his breath, drawing attention to his condition, into a stupid piggyback race? He realised this was the reason why he had moved on so quickly; these people showed him the affection he needed and the love he never thought he deserved.

"I think we can take them on," he said with a smirk, watching Frost's instant cheery reaction as he prepared himself. He took a leap and straddled Washington's back, wrapping his arms around his neck as he secured a stronger hold. Lem beamed back at him, always there to keep an eye on his buddy.

They thundered towards the twins, Angelo watched the ground disappear beneath Frost's feet and realised it was making him feel queasy. He looked up and saw Aidan teeter backwards as they approached. For a slender girl she was doing pretty well at carrying her brother, considering he was significantly larger than her. But she wasn't fast enough for them as Frost's longer stronger legs overtook them quite easily, almost as if Angelo weighed nothing more than a feather.

"No Fair!" Aidan squawked, "I'm a girl."

"And you should know by now, that shouldn't stop you," Frost called back with a chuckle as he jogged happily to the invisible finish line, not quite ready to let Angelo down yet as he turned to watch Aidan steadily make her way towards them. Slowly coming to a halt beside him and sending him a tired smile. Eli leapt down from her back and bounced cat-like on two feet.

"I think I've broken something," Aidan muttered rubbing her back.

"Ahh thanks sis, didn't think I was that heavy,"

Taking up the rear Lem and David marched their three legged walk towards them.

"We win!" Lem crowed.

Lieutenant Brewer's booming voice alerted them from their tomfoolery. He stood hands folded roughly across his chest as he watched them closely.

"What on Sera is going on?" He asked sternly

"Stamina building," Frost responded, approaching the Lieutenant with Angelo still on his back, still not wavering in strength.

"Well that's all well and good but how is that related to cross-country?"

"I'm sorry Lieutenant but being a Gear doesn't mean being the first individual to cross the line with no regard for his team. To me I need my team to finish alongside me for it to matter,"

Brewer eyed Frost suspiciously, watching him as he met his gaze confidently. He had indeed brought him up like his own son, a strong lad with a strong mind.

"You put across a strong argument, but at the end of the day a Gear must obey the orders of his superior officer,"

"To the detriment of his squad sir? In all honestly I would rather disobey orders so I could ensure the safety of my team."

"You will never make an officer if you keep disobeying orders,"

"I'm not here to become an officer I'm here to fight a war," he said firmly, "I'm here to protect my family."

Brewer smiled, it was one of those few opportunities he had ever let his guard drop, and it had always been with Frost.

"You'll do fine kid, you'll never be an officer but you'll make a great Gear," he said then glancing at the group, "Go on then, better not leave the instructor waiting for you."


	7. Chapter 6: David

**Chapter Six - David**

* * *

><p>David didn't want to feel so welcome in the group, especially when he had no desire to stay longer than he had to at the Compound. His plan was to play along for the day and to make a break for it by nightfall. Surely he would be able to track his father's steps, it hadn't been that long since he had left. It was just a case of playing the part until the time came. He was fortunate that no one had picked up on it so far. Maybe it was because he was dealing with a group of kids that at the first sight of a bereaved child was to step back and pretend it wasn't happening. He thought he was doing a pretty good job of it.<p>

He had started to assess the group he had been assigned to, watching the decisions they made and how respected they were within the group. It hadn't taken him long to get Lem, Angelo and Eli eating out of the palm of his hands, a few tears were all it took. It was Aidan he had grown cautious of, from their first encounter she had been watching him as if she didn't quite trust him. If he didn't play his cards correctly she could quite easily catch him out. And he had already worked out that Frost listened to everything she said, he clearly adored her, it was that obvious.

He had sat through a day of particularly boring classes and by the time he had reached the evening meal, listening to the chatter of children accepting their fate, he had already formulated a plan. And like everything it came down to tears. As his group sat around him, placing their trays of food down with a clatter, he prepared himself for an emotional overload. As the tears built themselves up he looked down on his food in misery.

"My mum used to make the best dinner," he sniffed, he hated the fact that he used his mum against these worthless kids. She was a good woman after all and she would have wanted for him to make the best of a terrible situation.

Most of the group lowered their eyes to their own food as if in remembrance of their own parents, even Eli joined in as if in understanding. Aidan glanced between them all in confusion, catching his eyes and frowning at him as if questioning his methods. As he looked to his group he could see even Lem welling up at the thought of his mother's cooking. Pathetic saps. They weren't worth the bread they were eating, and even that was dry and distasteful.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I feel that I have lost everyone in the world," he opted to up his antics.

"You haven't lost everyone," Lem interjected, placing a friendly arm around him, "remember you have us."

"But what about my daddy, who does he have?" he upped his level again, "If I have you who does my dad have? I can't just give up on him. I've lost mum I can't lose my dad."

Lem gave his shoulders a squeeze in response, "Don't ever give up on what's important to you. If you believe your dad will come back for you, hold onto that, because if that's the thing that keeps you going you're going to need that glimmer of hope."

"Really?" He looked back at him, blinking back his crocodile tears. Lem was making this hard for him to run off guilt free, the guy had been trying to reach out to him from the moment he had arrived. If it wasn't for the fact that he had promised himself that he wasn't going to get emotionally involved with these people Lem would have made a good friend.

"Of course, we all need that hope sometimes," he looked him in the eyes and smiled warmly.

"Oh Lord," Aidan muttered from across the table, pushing the chair out from under her and rising to her feet, "If you'll excuse me I think I've just lost my appetite."

She left her food as she quick marched herself out of the dining hall.

David could see that both her brother and Frost were looking longingly after her, as if they both wanted to get up and follow, but their loyalty to the group prevented them from doing so.

"Girls, eh?!" Angelo sighed, as if he thought he was reflecting his group's feelings, "Definitely can't live with them. And yet we rely on them to repopulate the world."

He watched as Angelo shook his head in bewilderment, the guy was quite clearly messed up if his thoughts were anything to go by. But then being brought up in the wasteland of Ephyra was enough to mess the strongest of people up.

David had been one of the lucky ones, his parents had been rich people who had bought their way into the safety of Jacinto in time for his birth where he had grown up in the security of its walls. Jacinto was safe. People brought up in the secure confines of the city were different to those who had witnessed Sera fall apart first hand. He was a Jacinto citizen first and foremost and no one was taking his birthright away from him. He would return to his father in Jacinto one way or another. The issue about the Locust was just a blip in the road he would have to overcome. Despite never actually coming face to face with one first hand he was certain that it wouldn't be that much of a problem, surely. He just couldn't understand why his father had taken him out of the safety of Jacinto to this dump where they could quite easily be attacked at any time. All it would take was one Locust to easily bring the place down. After all it was only one Locust that had killed his mother, he had never understood to this day why she had been outside the gates of Jacinto on that fateful day, what had motivated her to step away from safety and risk her life. It was a question his father would never answer and one that always haunted him.

A tear surprised itself as it rolled down his cheek. He realised he had to stop pushing himself to the edge so much. However it achieved its desired outcome as Lem slowly released his hold allowing David to have his moment.

"I'm sorry," he blubbed, "I think I'll go to bed, today has just been so emotionally hard for me."

The group asked no further questions, leaving him rise from his place and plod slowly towards the door. He was aware that they were watching his every move, their eyes bore down on him as he kept the act going.

He walked slowly through to the courtyard where he paused for a moment to admire the central feature. An elegant Angel reached skywards in ecstasy as her delicate wings hung protectively around her shoulders. One hand gripping the gliding COG eagle halo that hung over her head whilst the other hand clutched a small child closely to her breast, a look of pure adoration on her face. He stared up at the statue for a while, her immaculate features were so gentle yet she looked so strong. It wasn't until he lowered his eyes to the base of statue that he realised that he wasn't alone. Aidan sat partially hidden between the folds of the statues robes, legs drawn to her chest and chin resting on her knees as if in thought. She hadn't seen him yet and he realised he had to keep the act going. She was the threat to his plan, it was important that he relied on keeping her as distant as possible so she wasn't there to question his actions. So instead of approaching her he took a breath and slowly walked passed pretending that he hadn't seen her, leaving her to her thoughts.

He was aware that she had noticed him as he purposefully trudged past her, he let out a sniff and stutter just to prove a point as he made his way to the sleeping quarters. He knew she would keep her distance from him.

Finally in the safety of the dorm he was able, for the first time, to assess the room around him. Six beds scattered along the walls all in various stages of messiness. It made him wonder whether he was able to identify which bed belonged to each of the mismatched group. Only one bed had been made tidily, the blankets folded at the corners and the pillow fluffed at the head. He approached it cautiously, almost wishing that he knew these people better and that he could automatically point out whose bed was whose. Stepping back he stumbled over a pair of boots strewn against a set of drawers, he guessed from the look of them they were girl's boots, but his attention had drawn to the drawers before he gave the boots another thought. He carefully pulled on the drawer, sliding it stiffly open revealing the contents to him. His eyes widened in curiosity, there was nothing more fascinating than rifling through strange cupboards. The first thing his hands touched was a scruffy looking teddy bear, one eye hanging off a tattered thread and the other a handmade stitch. This bear was clearly well loved, its owner obviously attempting whatever they could to prolong the stuffed toy's shelf life. He squeezed it gently as it let out a mournful bellow which sounded nothing like a growl but he knew that was the obvious intention. He thought about all the toys left in his home and how he was going to do everything in his power to see them again. Placing the teddy back in the drawer he continued to rummage, picking out a photograph of three small children. He recognised the golden blond locks on two of them, one had her delicately wavy hair tied up by a blue ribbon and she clung fiercely to the third child, he beamed affection in his dark brown eyes as he returned the gesture back to her. The other blond child had wrapped his arms around the both of them and grinned cheekily back at the camera, his shining blue eyes and rosy cheeks depicting the delight in his expression.

A pang surged through David, a feeling he hadn't felt before, something he couldn't put his finger on. Was it jealousy he was feeling about these three? He had never had a brother or a sister to share his life with, so he really didn't understand the closeness between them. What did it mean to have someone who would give their life for you and expect nothing back in return? But then surely his father would do that for him, that's why he was sent here, to test his love for him, he kept thinking about the look of delight on his father's face the moment he would return back to him.

A sound in the corridor alerted him and he quickly stuffed the photo back in the drawer, pushed it shut and rushed back to his bed. Jumping quickly on it he stuffed his face on his pillow, listening to his heart thunder inside him, feeling the sudden burst of adrenaline flow through him as he waited. His ears tuned themselves to the voices in the corridor almost as if they thought they were out of earshot and unaware of his presence, he loved to listen in on conversations. He picked out the distinctive voice belonging to Aidan and deeper gruffer drawl of Frost.

"Whatever you're doing, stop it,"

"Stop what, I can't keep faking it Wash, I can't keep pretending everything is okay,"

"You have to,"

"How can any of you face that kid and tell him to keep hoping that his father will come back for him. Why do you have to fill him with false hope?"

"For all you know his father will come back,"

"What, you mean like the countless of other times that parents come back for all these kids here,"

"Just because it has never happened before doesn't mean it won't ever happen, that's why you have to keep hoping,"

"Wash, I'm not just saying it because it has never happened to us. I'm concerned that you fill things like that inside that poor boy's head and he's going to believe that his father will come back. He's not going to want to learn to fend for himself because he's going to truly believe that his knight in shining armour will come to save him."

"And you don't believe he will?"

"Life isn't a fairy tale and at the end of the day when we come face to face with any sort of Locust I don't want him to think his dad's going to swoop in and save him. Because the truth is he's probably never going to think of coming back for his son. He's now concentrating on surviving, that's why he was dumped here in the first place. The boy needs to realise that."

Deciding that he had had enough of the slanderous lies spoken behind his back, he slapped his hands over his ears and burying his head further into the lumpy pillow. He set to executing his plan as soon as the rest of the group and taken to their beds. He'd show them. He was perfectly capable of standing up for himself, and his father would be immensely proud of him.


	8. Chapter 7: Caught in the Act

**Chapter Seven – Caught in the Act**

* * *

><p>Washington marched awkwardly back and forth around the statue, wearing the unbearably heavy armour. He was starting to get used to the weight now as each step seemed a little easier to bare. He just hoped he wouldn't have to put it to practical use just yet. He circled past Aidan for about the thirtieth time. She had recently taken to brooding underneath the angel statue, knees drawn to her chin thoughtfully listening to any sounds that may echo in the darkness. She raised her head momentarily as two figures scurried across the courtyard, pausing to acknowledge Frost as he was coming around the statue. She watched as Frost bristled at the intrusion, before checking himself and nodding at them.<p>

"Hunter," he grunted.

"Frost," a tall lad with a long sweeping mane of chestnut brown hair tied back into a lavish ponytail responded as he placed a hand on the shoulders of his female companion. His eyes briefly went to seek out Aidan, knowing that she would be close by. As he located her he sent her a toothy grin, "Aidan."

She just watched closely as Frost stepped protectively between them.

"Isn't it a bit late for you to be out Hunter?" he asked.

"It's never too late for a bit of fun," he peered over Frost's shoulders, "What do you think, eh Aidan."

"Sorry Hunter my diary is full,"

Hunter's companion, a willowy little blonde thing with tiny features, giggled to herself. Hunter smiled, rubbing his hand suggestively down her back, flashing a smile at Frost and slowly moving her on.

"Doesn't know what she's missing," he murmured as they made their way into the empty school room for their evening of mischief.

Washington sent a throaty growl before turning aggressively towards Aidan, sending her a look of desperation.

"I don't know why you let him wind you up so much," she commented.

"I've never known anyone more infuriating. He's been here a year and has already made his way through the majority of females on the Compound. I doubt there is anyone who he hasn't attempted the charm effect on and been unsuccessful." He looked pointedly at her before she frowned in response.

"You know too well that the only thing Hunter got from me was a kick in the groin,"

"I know, I know and I trust you not to stupidly give yourself away to that idiot. It's just that he thinks that just because his parents are decorated heroes that he can parade around like he owns the joint."

"Just because you don't know your parents doesn't mean that they aren't decorated heroes as well. And besides Hunter thinks everyone loves him but in reality most people think he's a jerk. It's you everyone respects."

"I don't know, there's just something about him that just infuriates me, maybe it's because he set his sights on you the moment he arrived and you made it worse by refusing his actions."

"So you're jealous, that's what it is," she unfolded herself from under the statue and took a couple of gentle steps to reach him, drawing level to look him sincerely in his deep chocolate brown eyes as she stood on tip toes, "You really shouldn't feel threatened by him. I mean there is no one..."

A sound of scuffling alerted her and she turned to the courtyard gates, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

She moved quickly and quietly towards the hidden safety of the building walls along the edges of the courtyard, pressing herself against the stone as she leaned out to peer into the darkness. Washington watched in bemusement, he had absolutely no idea what she had picked up on. It was one of the amazing things about Aidan, she was so quick to pick up on anything that sounded out of place, it made up for her clumsiness with large weaponry.

She turned quickly back behind the wall and beckoned for him to follow. He thudded heavily towards her, feeling unbelievably cumbersome as his armour clunked against his limbs. She glanced back at him, acknowledging his armour with a roll of the eyes.

"There's someone out there,"

"You think it's Locust?"

"Climbing over the wall out of the complex?" she frowned, "Surely if it were Locust they'd be coming into the complex and not out."

"Unless they sent out a scout beforehand,"

"Somehow I doubt it," she glanced out one more time, "Come on."

She darted away, running ever so quietly and following along the darkness of the compound walls. He quickly reminded himself that he had to keep with her, as he was the one with a weapon, in case there was indeed any Locust lurking around the premises. He thudded heavily behind her as she made her way out of the compound gate, he couldn't even stop her to warn her that leaving the compound meant leaving any safety behind. Once she had picked up on something she was determined to follow it. He realised that he was keeping up a good pace behind her, until she stopped dead in her footsteps and he slammed right into her, bashing her onto the floor as she rolled down into the gully running along the wall.

She cursed, muttering under her breath as she picked herself up brushing the mud and grass off her legs, then looking up and noticed the figure. A small rakish thing had obviously dropped the contents of their bag whilst climbing over the wall. They were making a lot of noise, as they clunked and clanked things into a bag.

"See I told you," she hissed, "definitely not Locust."

She heaved herself out of the ditch and took a few steps towards the figure.

"Hey!" she called.

Frost dug around in his knapsack for a small flashlight, twisting the head and shone the feeble beam of light at the individual. It picked out the thin bony frame of a child, a small boy that he instantly recognised.

"David?"

The boy looked up quickly, caught in the act he dropped his bag, as the contents slipped out and scattered around him.

"W...What are you doing here?" he stammered.

"We could ask you the same thing," Aidan responded, watching him carefully.

"Why are trying to run away David?" Washington asked, calming the frustration in his voice.

"I'm not running away, I'm going home," David replied confidently.

"But this is home," even Aidan's voice softened as she knelt down to pick up his scattered belongings, gentle hands taking hold of a soft toy and squeezing it slightly.

"No, this is _your_ home, it's not mine," he snatched the toy from Aidan's hands and stuffed it back into his bag, "It's been fun and everything, but I don't belong here."

"Where do you belong?" Frost asked, half feeling as if he should be doing everything to prevent the situation from escalating.

"Jacinto of course, where my dad is," a lost faraway look had etched itself on David's face.

"I don't mean to dash your hopes, but your dad won't be in Jacinto any more, if he is a Gear he's going to be out with his squad, not sitting at home reading the paper."

"Why do you think he sent you here in the first place? He wasn't going to be home anymore to protect you," Aidan added.

"You lie, you're only saying that because no one's going to come back for you," He roughly tugged on the zip to the bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"True, but at least we know that whatever we have here is more important than throwing our lives away for someone who may never think about us again,"

The kid shrugged, pulling the other strap of the bag over his other shoulder and just looked at the pair in bemusement.

"It doesn't matter what you say, I've made my mind up, I'm going home and I'm going to find my dad."

"How do you plan on getting to Jacinto alive?" Frost frowned, glancing at Aidan's dark shape, unable to read any reaction from her in the shadows.

"I'll find a way, I mean, c'mon I was able to scale those walls,"

"Don't know why you didn't just go through the open gates," Aidan muttered, unable to resist the temptation of a little competency dig.

"Look, you don't understand, this..." he gestured the compound, "This is not an option for me and I will do anything to get out of here, so there is no point even in you trying to talk me out of it, I have made up my mind. If you bring me back there I will only just break out again."

"I do understand and the last thing I want is to keep you here against your will. I'm just worried, that's all, that you may not even make it to Jacinto on your own. It's a dangerous place out there," Just as Frost made a step forward to place an arm on David something whizzed past the back of his head and hit the wall behind him.

"What the..." Aidan turned towards the wall, slowly she edged down the slope into the ditch and blindly felt along it till she located what she was after, brushing her fingers against the metal of a bullet embedded in the stone, "I'm putting bets on sniper."

"David, get down," Frost pushed heavily on the boy's shoulders and heaved him to the ground, pushing him towards the ditch along the foot of the wall, "Aidan get behind cover."

She dropped quickly to the floor, "Did you see anything?"

He placed a hand on the back of his head and felt a sharp tang as he touched a fresh wound. He cursed as he returned his hand to reveal a small patch of blood. He was lucky to have survived that swipe.

"Nah just felt it," he muttered, he turned to the shaking thing beside him, "David, you okay?"

"W...What was t...that?" he stammered.

"Trouble," Aidan had started to crawl down the ditch towards the direction of the compound gates, "Come on let's get back, they usually come in groups, we need to get to safety before anymore come along."

Frost had herded the boy into the middle, pushing him along the gully as they shuffled towards the gate. Midway Aidan paused, lifting her head slightly as if she had heard something.

"Tickers!"

"What's a ticker?"

She twisted, plonking herself on her haunches to turn to the boy. She placed her hands on his arms and looked at him sternly.

"Now listen to me, we're going to have to run for it, a ticker is a bomb on legs and can set off at will. When I give the call we run along the gully as fast as we can into the compound,"

"Aidan," Frost's voice waivered slightly as he gestured to the top of the ditch, as the eerie sound of scuttling had drawn his attention and the ever so sinister sound of ticking had filled the air.

She kept a grip on David's arm, "Run."


	9. Chapter 8: Unrest

**Chapter Eight - Unrest**

* * *

><p>His feet thundered underneath him, as the hold on his arm tightened, pulling him along the gully towards the gates of the compound. He could hear his companions beside him, pushing him further, urging him onwards. All the while the sound of ticking sent shivers up his spine. True he'd never properly seen a Locust close up before but he certainly didn't want it to be the last thing he had ever encountered. For this reason alone he kept running behind Aidan, crouched low and darting towards safety.<p>

He just wished the moment they entered the gates that all danger would disappear, that the ticking monster would stop.

It stopped alright.

Around the same time the little bomb decided to detonate itself.

The blast blew them across the courtyard, ripping apart the precious gates and their supposed safety along with it.

David took a lot longer to pick himself up. He probably would have remained on the ground, tightly curled protecting any essential part of his body, if it wasn't for a heavy hand grasping hold of his rucksack and plucking up from the floor. He slowly pealed one eye open, peering down at what might be holding him, a distressed looking Frost shook him momentarily. He couldn't understand why he was so calm when everything was going to hell around them.

"Kid, hey kid, you alright?" Frost waited for him to nod his head meekly before scanning the grounds to where Aidan sat on her knees, brushing the rock dust off her thighs, "Aidan?"

"I'm fine," she responded, "We need to alert the Lieutenant."

"Go get him, I'll set off the perimeter alarm,"

"What about me?" David whimpered, not that he wanted to get involved in anything that required him risking his life.

Frost released his hold on the boy's rucksack and gave him a look as if he didn't quite trust him, "Just stay here and keep yourself safe."

Washington strode with determined strides towards to a stumpy bell unit located beside the courtyard centrepiece. Grabbing hold of the waxed rope he pulled hard, a heavy metal bell started clanging, jangling loudly as the sound echoed around the courtyard, awaking the children and instructors within hearing distance. He was so focused on his mission that he didn't even realise that something had skittered up close behind him until it swept him off his feet, halting the eerie bell alarm. A large dog like creature swiped at him, large claws scrammed at him, catching the side of his face. He used the strength in his legs to keep the beast back as he grappled for something to take it down, his hands clutched hold of the base of the flashlight as he lifted it up and struck the creature again and again. It paused momentarily as it took the blow to its bulbous head, then it sat back on its haunches flung its front legs out wide and screamed. An ear piercing screech shattered his ear drums as he struggled to scramble away from it. It lowered its front legs and opened its mouth in glee, line after line of barbed fangs glistened back at him as it prepared itself for its final jump. Frost let out a tired breath, was this it, after all this preparation he was going to be taken down by a wretch? His hand fumbled again for the pistol he had previously relied on, just knowing its presence had been enough for him to know he was safe. Now however, if he was going to die without it being used, what was the point in even carrying it around. His fingers danced over the barrel, the cold steel stroked the tips teasingly, just out of reach. He let out a frustrated cry as he booted the wretch back with his heavy shoe, trying to give himself time to escape. But the beast was relentless. It pounced back, teeth and claws lashing out, enjoying every moment of power it possessed over him. Preparing itself for that final leap before it took Washington's life away. He felt his body surrender to the inevitable, closing his eyes as the creature took its final leap.

Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours just waiting for death to arrive.

As he felt something warm and wet rain down on him. He slowly opened one eye at a time to see Aidan standing over him, a huge shotgun in her arms and a look of concern across her face. He felt the weight that had restricted his arms lighten as he lifted one hand up to discover he was covered in a dark red chunky liquid. He frowned drawing his arm closer to him. It stank, a putrid stomach churning reek of rotten eggs and flesh. That was when Frost realised he was staring at a piece of brain chunk splattered across his torso, he looked down to see a headless carcass of the Wretch lifeless at his feet. He turned violently as he vomited up the contents of his stomach.

"Oh dear lord," he breathed, wiping his sleeve over his mouth, "Aida you shot it."

"A thank you wouldn't go amiss here," she commented, offering a hand to help him to his feet. He grabbed hold of her and hoisted himself up, staring down at the beast that would have taken his life away.

"Aida I..."

"Frost are you okay?" Lieutenant Brewer's authoritative voice interrupted their moment. Pushing Aidan aside as he checked Frost over, turning his face one side then the other examining the gashes that oozed blood down his cheek.

"I'm fine sir," Frost tried to push him back, "Thanks to Aidan."

"Frost I thought I trained you for better things," he scolded, keeping a hand on Washington's arm.

"You did, I just wasn't expecting to be blindsided by a Wretch." He plucked his arm away from the Lieutenant, picking up his pistol and holstering it, adjusting the position so it was closer to pull out if it was needed.

Aidan stepped back for a moment watching as the Lieutenant fussed with Frost. She couldn't believe the amount of attention he was giving him, almost as if a deeper set concern had risen up and overtaken him. She cleared her throat as if to remind them they weren't alone. Brewer paused for a second, glancing down at the dusty blonde teenage girl and pulling himself round to the moment. He looked swiftly at the courtyard with shattered twisted metal gates and concrete debris littered across the floor as stone dust filled the air. Realisation struck that his haven was being torn apart. Panic filled his eyes as he saw other kids fill the courtyard, alerted by Frost's alarm, all these children were no longer safe here if the Locust had discovered their last place of security. If this really was the case, and he seriously doubted that Frost and Aidan would make that up, then he had to start the mass evacuation of the children and get them to Jacinto as quickly as possible.

"How many were out there Frost?" he asked, once again blanking Aidan who just shrugged in response.

"I'm guessing only scouts at the moment, but there was definitely a sniper," he responded mechanically, wiping a hand across his cheek, smearing the blood further. Brewer felt a sense of pride flourish up through him, he hoped he had trained him well enough to survive.

"That means they have anticipated our exit strategy," he indicated the rubble that remained of the gates, "we need to rethink our plans."

"Sir, do you think we need to arm the older kids?" Aidan reminded from behind him, annoyed that she was being ignored. She rubbed at her shoulder where the shotgun had kicked out at her when she had fired, she hoped it hadn't dislocated, but man it hurt.

An unfamiliar expression crossed Brewer's face as if he was realising for the first time that help probably won't come in time to protect these children and it was up to him to ensure their safety. So many helpless children too young or too small to be able to hold a weapon to protect themselves. A terrible fear fell over him, there was no way he could protect all these children.

"Sir?" Aidan's expectant face stared back him, so much wasted youth in the girl he had protected like a daughter. What do you say when you don't have any answers.

"Aidan, child, go get your squad. Rally the other kids together within their teams and make sure every child is accounted for. Frost you are responsible for making sure that every child able to hold a weapon has something to protect themselves. I'm not risking these scouts, the chances are that more Locust are on their way. We have to evacuate the Compound now."

"Evacuate to where, sir?"

"There is only one place we can go and that's Jacinto, the only safe place left in Sera,"

Aidan exchanged glances with Frost. They both realised that they would be leaving their home for the first time, the place they had grown up in and their cherished small ounce of safety it provided them. This wasn't a game anymore, all the times they had messed around in classes because they knew nothing could harm them. It all seemed very real now.

An ear splitting scream from outside the compound shattered their thoughts. The same scream the wretch had made just before he made his lethal pounce on Frost. The creatures were alerting others to their position.

Frost wiped at the blood that had dribbled down his forehead and into his eyes, obscuring his vision. His muscles were starting to quake inside him, whether this was from fear or the remainder of the adrenaline that had kept him alive he was uncertain. But he knew that he had to keep himself busy before fear had surpassed any other emotion.

"Come on Aida, get the groups sorted and meet me at the weaponry room. We need to keep our family together if we stand a chance of survival."

"What about the boy?" she asked, a look of doubt across her face, there was no way she wanted to class this new kid as part of her family.

"Especially the boy," He looked at her sharply, "We either all go, or we all stay."

She let out a sigh glancing up at Brewer in reluctance as he made his way towards the radio control room, muttering to himself about contacting headquarters about evacuation. He was scared and it feared her that the one adult that could protect them really wasn't of sound mind.

* * *

><p>Eli stood in confusion amongst the crowd of children, typical that the one night he had to catch up on his sleep was the night they decided to keep him awake with emergency evacuation drills. But something seemed wrong, staring bleary eyed at the scene before him he could see rubble littered across the courtyard at one part the walls had been blown apart and a huge gaping hole revealed the Seran night landscape to them. His eyes drew to Washington who stood in the centre of the courtyard splattered with bits of blood and gore, beside him the body of a creature lay still with parts of its body missing. He then saw Aidan making her way quickly to them, a look of foreboding across her face.<p>

"Aide, what's going on?" he called to her.

"Locust," she responded fretfully before turning to the gathering and addressing them all, "Can everyone please gather together in your groups. Troop Leaders are to ensure that each member is present and accounted for. This is not a drill."

"Why?" one child asked loudly.

"Lieutenant Brewer is organising evacuation with headquarters. We are all to ensure that we look after each other before help arrives."

"What's happening Aidan?" Hunter made his way slowly to her, placing a hand on her arm to comfort her.

She glanced down at his hand as if it was a foreign object and then looked back at him, scowling at the thought that he was still trying to worm his way into her good books.

"We're being attacked Hunter, we have to evacuate the Compound," she responded, trying to pluck herself out of his hold, "So I highly recommend that you gather your group together and keep them safe."

She felt movement beside her other elbow, turning nervously for a moment to feel a warm hand link into the crook of her arm. Lem was beside her, his hair now plaited back into a cornrows meeting scruffily at the back of his head, tiredness was still thick in his eyes as he smiled sleepily back at her. She felt a wave of relief at his comforting presence glancing over at Hunter with a sneer as if to threaten him off as he released his grip.

"Is everything okay Aidan?" Lem's soft voice soothingly reassured her, unlike Hunter who was now hesitantly stepping away.

"Lem, this monster had pinned Frost down, I thought it was going to kill him," Aidan moved into Lem's arms momentarily forgetting herself and unconsciously forcing Hunter away. She had never been a touchy feely person so it had shocked both herself and Lem at this sudden outburst of emotion. He released his hold for a moment before pressing his arms around her in comfort.

She took a moment to steel herself before moving away and letting out a breath of relief. She looked up to see her family around her, Eli and Angelo stood beside Lem protectively watching over her until she was ready to face the world again.

"Is it true Aide, do we have to evacuate the Compound?" Eli asked quietly.

She nodded gravely in response "We're not safe here anymore."

"So what's the plan? Do we just wait around until help arrives?"

"Washington is giving out weapons to those who can handle one in case we need to hold the compound ready for evacuation. We have to meet him there."

"Come on then, we should make our way to him," Angelo started to walk towards the weaponry room.

"Wait, what about David?" Lem asked.

"Seriously?" Aidan sighed shaking her head, "He was with us. We caught him attempting to break for freedom. I lost sight of him when the Wretch jumped Washington."

"Where would he be?" Eli scanned the assembled group of kids for a moment, failing to catch sight of the wraith like boy.

"Leave it to me, you guys meet Washington over at the weaponry room, you're handier with a weapon anyway. I'll find the boy and meet you there."

She cast a reluctant glance at her group as she promptly entered the dormitories in the hope of finding the boy.


	10. Chapter 9: Fear

**Chapter Nine - Fear**

* * *

><p>Eli watched his sister leave, a feeling of fear and sadness in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like the idea of leaving his home, he had never left the gates of the Compound before and now it made him sick to think he was going to be leaving it forever. Slowly the three boys made their way across the courtyard towards the armoury room. Lem paused to look at the Wretch's body strewn carelessly across the ground, he exchanged glances with Angelo. Both knew what the other was thinking, it was happening again and their lives were about to change. Eli's eyes were fixed to the ground, watching as the rubble started bouncing slightly, slowly at first then quite rapidly.<p>

"Is anyone else seeing this?" he asked.

"What?"

"The ground is shaking, can't you feel it?"

"See, feel, make your mind up Eli,"

"No I feel it too," Lem had stopped in his tracks and was watching the ground with unusual interest. A memory niggled in the back of his mind, something that had made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end and a shiver etch its way down his spine.

Angelo's eyes were now wide with fear, he started muttering, "No, no, no, no not again."

Lem gripped his wrist, "Gelo, calm down. You're with me right, I won't let anything happen to you."

He felt his breathing tighten as his lungs started to squeeze together, failing to inflate. He clutched Lem's hands in panic and glanced up at him, his deep trustful emerald eyes firmly looked back at him. He owed his life to Lem, there was no way he was going to jeopardise it now. He had to calm himself. If only he could breathe.

"Rus...lun..." He gasped in fear, gripping Lem's wrists tighter and tighter.

"Calm down Gelo, breathe, it's a panic attack. Come on you can beat this," Lem told him firmly, after all these years he was the only one who could help him overcome his fear. Lem knew the only way to keep him going was to keep pushing him to overcome the obstacles, "Breathe with me Gelo come on."

For a fifteen year old Lem had a maturity that most adults would envy. Forced to grow up before his time, he took Angelo's pain in his strides. Although it had been a good four years since he last had to deal with Angelo's irrationality.

Angelo stared hard at Lem willing him to help him breathe again. He desperately watched as Lem breathed in and out, jealous of the air that filled his friend's lungs. He could hear his own heart thunder in his ears as his pulse rapidly reminded him of what little life he had. He had to calm himself down. He had to prove that he could control his own nerves, that he was worthy of Lem's support. He opened his mouth and gasped in a tiny breath of precious air, instantly he could feel his lungs ease and inflate ever so lightly.

"Come on Gelo, watch me breathe, copy me now," Lem's firm words rang in his ears, as he gripped Angelo's wrist tighter in apprehension.

Angelo gulped in air as if he were a fish, hungrily and in small short bursts. Slowly and surely he could feel his lungs inflate inside him and the tightness subside. Lem stood with him, watching over him.

"Angelo I will never let any harm come to you. You have to trust me, please calm down," Lem was more than a big brother to Angelo, he was his reason for survival.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in another breath of air. Eventually he could feel his vision settling and Lem became more than a blurry outline. He who was still holding his wrists, lighter this time, but still firmly enough to keep some sense still in him. He looked distracted, his attention drawn from Angelo to the rubble of the Compound gates. In a sudden movement he turned to him, a new sense of fear in his eyes, as if he knew they were in more danger than what they had ever encountered before.

"Gelo we need to get to Wash and Eli now, don't look back, just keep walking,"

With a firm grip on Angelo's wrist Lem led him through the courtyard and towards the weaponry room. The ground shook below their feet again and a deep guttural voice called out not far behind them. Lem turned at the sound and instantly wished he never had. His heart leapt into his throat and sank into the pit of his stomach at the same time. After all these years the monsters had found them, their ghostly grey leathery skin stood out and from far away as he saw more appear into view. And all he could think about was getting Angelo away from it all. He quickened his pace, almost on the verge of running now. As he dragged Angelo desperately behind him till they stumbled over the steps into the armoury where Eli had been helping Washington hand out weapons to any child that could handle one. He didn't let go until he had led Angelo all the way over to the others, reluctantly releasing his wrist and letting him flop helplessly to the ground. Washington paused, passing one of the weapons he was handing out to Eli and stepped away from the mass of awaiting children.

"Lem, what's going on?" he asked, regarding the pale looking Angelo with some concern, "Are you both alright?"

"Gelo's fine," he reassured, "He had a panic attack. Took some time but we're here now."

Washington watched him closely, "There's something else isn't there."

Lem glanced down at Angelo who was sitting uncomfortably on the floor in his own little troubled world. He took a few steps away from him to be closer to Frost.

"Wash they're coming, I saw them gathering outside the Compound gates, those horrible monsters,"

Washington stood thoughtfully for a moment, digesting this new information as he kept a close eye on Angelo.

"You think you'd be able to handle a weapon, if we needed you to?" He asked Angelo, a little reluctant to be handing a weapon to a fifteen year old who relied completely on his brother in arms.

Angelo shook his head, "You want me to go out there and face those monsters? I don't think I can do it Wash, I'm sorry."

"That's fine Gelo, I'll protect you," Lem interjected, "You don't ever need to worry about facing those monsters. I can handle a weapon just fine for the both of us."

"I'm not worried about you Lem, I'm concerned that Angelo may not be able to protect himself," Washington told the pair firmly, "I mean help is coming, the Lieutenant is radioing for help, so I have no doubt that the COG will be here to save us. I'm just worried that the moment you turn your back from each other something might happen."

"Nothing will happen, I won't let it," Lem's tone was full of defiance and impatience, snatching a pistol from the rows of guns and examining it with a fierceness Frost had never seen before.

Eli watched quietly, still handing out weapons according to size of child and strength. He had grown up with the children and teenagers around him, he trusted a lot of them, but he was still afraid of what little they all knew. Would they alone be able to defend their pathetic little stronghold until help arrived? He doubted it. The ground under his feet shook again, stronger than he'd previously felt, causing a few rifles to fall off their mounted position on the gun rack. He passed another weapon to a waiting boy; his shaking hands took the gun reluctantly and clutched it tightly to his chest as if it were a toy.

"Err Wash," He muttered to his companion, who turned slightly at his name in response "What are we going to do if help doesn't arrive in time? I mean I always just figured that these weapons were for show. You really don't think that any of these kids can fire these?"

"I don't think we have a choice Eli,"

Sadness swept over Washington as he regarded the group of children moving in and out of the building, each being directed by their allocated group leader. Did any of them really understand the magnitude of their actions? By taking up firearms they were preparing themselves for an almost certain death. He then glanced at his little family, he had never wanted to call it a squad or unit, these people had been more like brothers to him than he had ever felt from his own missing flesh and blood. He knew he would try protect them all if any of them were in any danger. It even included Angelo and his immensely irrational fears, he knew what he had to do to ensure their safety. In that moment he realised that he was missing a couple of members of his group, Aidan had gone off in search of the new boy. He wondered how hard it would be for them with a child that knew very little about the hardships they had all experienced whilst he had been safe and snug at home. Part of him hoped the COG would come and save them all so they wouldn't have to protect themselves. Although he realised that if the COG came down hard on the Compound, they would almost certainly wrench it out of the Lieutenant's fragile arms and any power he had over Aidan's safety would be destroyed. A girl amongst the vast group of boys would almost certainly be found easily and they wouldn't hesitate to take her straight to the birthing farms kids had spoken about, the place where nearly every other girl had been sent, almost certainly to their doom. He owed it to Aidan to protect her from that fate. She was the closest person he had to a sister and he was never going to let her come to any harm. Realising that he and Lem had more similarities than he had originally thought, he turned to watch him carefully fussing over Angelo, there was so much love and affection in a boy who at that age really should be shunning any intimate contact. It was funny when the world turned on its head, any expectation on humanity also went with it.

A desperate scream outside alerted the group, Washington rushed to the small grime smeared window, rubbing a clearer view on the glass pane he peered outside. A troop of grey monsters had started to march their way towards the rubble of the Compound gates. He let out a momentary gasp, as his heart tangoed inside his chest and he took a few steps away from the window. Part of him wanted to run and hide from the threat that loomed outside their home, but luckily for him his instinct kept him together. He took a slow calculated breath and turned to his family, they all watched him carefully, their faces full of expectant fear.

"Keep away from the windows, if you can, and try to stay together,"

"How are we supposed to protect ourselves if we can't see anything?" Eli objected trying to peer through the smeary gap Washington had made on the glass.

"My job is to ensure your safety, all we have to do is to hold these creatures back until help arrives,"

"What if we can't," Angelo added ominously, "What if help arrives too late? It usually does."

"I have faith in the COG," Frost refused to be feel beaten. He trusted the COG to protect them, after all they had cared for and protected him all these years.

"Angelo's doubts may have substance Wash," Lem responded, "They came too late for us."

"But you lived in a town, stranded from COG control, we now live in a Compound maintained by the COG,"

"Don't you ever call us Stranded!" Lem snapped taking a sudden unexpected and failed swing at Washington, "We had a choice and my family choose to go back. We are not Stranded!"

"Lem I didn't mean." Frost faltered, his confidence failed him. He had never intended to call Lem and Angelo Stranded, he had only meant the location of their village had been in a remote location that the COG had probably struggled to find them. He had never wanted to intentionally hurt them in any way.

"Guys, what the hell?" Eli stepped in, "Seriously? We're going to do this now? When we're about to come up against the fight of our lives you two decide to have it out about a stupid mistake. We're meant to be on each other's side not against each other. You know right now I'm more concerned about my sister, who is out there looking for a little boy we really don't know, risking her life for him. For your sakes I hope she comes back to us, because your pathetic little quibble means absolutely nothing to me right now."

The three stared back at Eli, after an outburst so unlike his character all they could do was stare back. In fact the entire confrontation had been out of character for them all.

"What are we doing?" Washington shook his head in surrender, "Why are we all turning on ourselves, we need to stay united, how are we supposed to hold the Compound if we can't work together."

"Aidan will come back Eli," Angelo added, scrabbling to pull himself to his feet at last, "Remember she knows all the secret tunnels and hiding spaces from the times that she's had to hide before. She'll find David I have no doubt about it."

Before Eli could even respond a deep roar sounded somewhere outside the armoury, its gravelly and threatening tone sent children running across the courtyard screaming. The thundering voice started repeating the same sound over and over, a deep earth splitting sound that sent shivers down Eli's spine, until he realised that the sound was actually laughing. The monster was laughing at them. They probably saw this as an easy conquest. How quickly children could be squished under their giant boots. He felt the ground shake under their footsteps, his heart beating loudly in his throat. His hand reached out for the cold metal of the pistol beside him his fingers closing over the steel casing as he brought the weapon closer to his chest. He pulled the main barrel out and started to slot a bullet into each section, listening to metal scratch upon metal, thrusting a fistful of bullets into his pockets as extra ammunition.

"Wash," he spoke quietly, "This scares me."

"Me too Eli," Frost responded still looking out the window, watching as the creatures continued to approach, "Me too."


	11. Chapter 10: Single Handed

**Chapter Ten – Single Handed**

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Brewer stood in his office twiddling the receiver to the radio and listening to the static purr back at him in response. He lifted the headset to his mouth and spoke once more into the microphone.<p>

"This is Lieutenant Brewer of Junior Company Compound, requesting urgent support. Locust have been sighted on the outskirts of the Compound, we need support and possible evacuation,"

Static hissed back at him, "Damnit." He sighed, placing the headset back down again and repeating the process.

He hated feeling so useless. He had always known from the moment they had dumped him in control of the Compound, miles away from civilisation, that the COG had just effectively found a way to disappear someone who was completely useless in the battlefield. The only time they had descended upon him was to take away the girls to the farms. It wouldn't be a surprise if they weren't interested in his plea now. If the COG took in a huge group of kids they would all be separated and sent away to battle, most certainly to their death.

Frustration bubbled up inside him, he had a good group of kids here, all capable of doing amazing things. Most still had parents in battle wanting to get back to them eventually and he owed it to them to protect them.

He thumped the console with his good hand and pressed the radio button again, repeating his statement again for what must have been the fifteenth time. This time the static hesitated for a moment before hissing back, then crackling with a male voice in response.

"This is Control, Lieutenant do you read, over?"

He let out a sigh of relief, "I read Control."

"Can you repeat your message again, we heard something to do with a compound and Locust,"

"I command Junior Company, it's a compound on the outskirts of Ephyra North of Jacinto, we have sighted Locust on the outskirts and we're requesting urgent assistance,"

"Doesn't Junior Company have its own unit situated in the Compound Lieutenant?"

"That's a negative Control, it's only children defending the compound,"

"Children?"

"And I don't think they can hold their own for long against the enemy,"

"I'm limited on Ravens Lieutenant, I'll see what squads we have available,"

"I don't care I just need assistance and as soon as possible,"

"Okay Lieutenant I'll see what I can rustle up, do you have the co-ordinates of the Compound so the Raven can find you?"

As he recited the location co-ordinates he walked over to the window and flicked a finger through the blinds to peer into the courtyard. His hopes sank rapidly as he saw a small troop of Locust making their way into the compound For any highly trained squad they would have been easy pickings, but for a group of children, these were a nightmare waiting to take their lives away.

"Control please hurry, Locust have breached the perimeter," he pleaded as he signed off, placing the headset on the table, and lowering himself to his seat in sadness. All these years of protecting these children and training them up to prepare them for such encounters, made him feel so helpless. There was no way he could help them, he looked down at his useless limb and cursed the moment he had lost it.

The ground shook beneath his feet, more Locust had emerged from another hole nearby, soon the compound would be surrounded and all would be lost. He slowly pulled open his bottom drawer, retrieving a rectangular glass decanter with a small drop of honey coloured liquor. He placed the decanter on his desk and heaved out the stopper, pouring the remnants of the container into a glass, letting it slosh around and splash onto his desk. He plonked the decanter back on his desk and downed the glass of golden denial, letting the heat kick back at his throat. He hissed between his teeth before placing the glass down and taking out a small gun from the bottom drawer, it was already loaded, filled the last of the bullets he had ever loaded into his weapon. He rose to his feet, there was no need to see what else was going on outside. He knew what he had to do.

With quick heavy determined steps he made his way to the doorway, positioning himself in the porch, slowly he slipped his head out quickly taking head count of how many beasts he was facing. He could hear a few of the older children in the neighbouring armoury taking up position ready to fire. He was also aware of the younger ones cowering beneath the Angel Statue in the middle of the courtyard. The Locust were making their way towards the unarmed younger children, each one laughing to each other in turn at how easy it would be to take them down. Brewer checked his antique pistol and unhooked the safety switch, ready to shoot the moment the creatures drew any closer.

But before he had a chance to do any heroics a voice sounded from the armoury as Washington stepped into the courtyard with a Lancer. One of the few weapons Brewer had extensively trained him in, the weapon looked huge in the kid's arms and he was a strong kid, handling a weapon of that power would be no problem for him. He revved the chainsaw to attract the Locust attention away from the children under the statue.

The Drone turned to him tilting its head in disbelief then glanced at the rest of its troop who mostly chuckled back throatily in response. It raised its weapon, aiming it directly at Washington, who had now darted back into the building. It fired back at him regardless, bits of stone chipped off the wall from the doorway he had been hiding behind.

Brewer watched at the diversion as Hunter quickly ran to the children under the statue, ushering them away from the Angel and behind the safety of the schoolhouse doors. He stood in wonder at the organisation the children showed, the unity in getting the younger ones to safety. It made him think whether he was really needed at all to protect these kids, clearly he had done his job well in training them.

Washington had started to fire back at the Drone, each blast of the bullets smattered into the grey scaly skin. It just looked down at its injuries, shrugged and kept firing. He could hear more voices from the other side of the courtyard where Hunter had gathered some of the other older kids and they had started to fire back in response to Frost. Each child responding to the fire power of their gun differently. Some taking a long time between shots to get over the kick of the weapon. Some trying to accurately line up a Drone in turn and either missing or skimming it by mere millimetres. He scanned the grounds for the chosen few children he had picked to train to use the Longshot, there had only been a select few who had been steady and patient enough to hit the target. He wondered where Aidan would have settled. She knew the grounds better than anyone after being forced to hide in the multiple joining lofts for many years, she would know the perfect spot to climb into the rafters and onto the roof.

A smash of glass from the armoury and a couple of screams inside indicated that the Locust hadn't been far off on their aim. This time more children returned fire, obviously with the broken window the other kids were able to fire back. Brewer could hear the Locust communicating to one another, a guttural grunt here and roar there. He could distinctly pick up the words ooman and destroy. A few drones stepped back to allow a larger beefier and all round uglier Locust to step forward, he thunked heavily closer holding a massive weapon aimed for the armoury. The Lieutenant watched in horror as it lined the window up and tightened its claw on the trigger as it let out a deep rumbling 'Boom' sound.

This was his moment, he wasn't going to let the boys die for nothing. He jumped out of the doorway and shouted at the huge Boomer.

"Hey, over here!"

The Boomer swung his weapon towards him and released the trigger, the Boomshot kicked back as the grenade leapt out at him. Brewer jumped across into the courtyard. He could hear Washington scream to him in desperation as the Boomer ambled heavily after him, grunting as he took a step closer.

Brewer had been a quick runner in his young days and had always prided himself in his nimble speed when he used to fight on the front line. Although today he had lost a lot of that speed with age. He was still a damn side faster than the Boomer. He knew his weapon would be no use against the lump of flesh that was plodding after him and there was no way he could use any other weapon. Instead he had to hope that the boys would see this as good opportunity to fire at the Boomer using their hardier weapons. If he was only any good as a distraction then so be it, he had to treasure the bullets left in the barrel of his gun.

He darted in and out of the statue too quick for the Boomer to understand what was going on. It was true what he had heard, they weren't the brightest of the Horde. He kicked at it from behind before running round to avoid it swing back at him. Instead something hit him in the arm, it swung him to the ground, he felt a stinging sensation burn right through his limb. He grit his teeth, heaving himself up, turning to see a Drone approach him, Hammerburst aimed directly at him. Obviously it had gotten bored with Brewer's game with the Boomer. He lifted his arm, feeling the pain scream through him as he pulled the trigger watching as the Drone took a bullet to the eye. It squealed in pain as it doubled over, thick red blood squirting from the wound and between its clawed hands.

From somewhere else in the compound someone else fired at the wounded Drone. Hitting it in the side then the back then the head. Brewer could hear it scream as it blindly fired in response at nothing in particular before taking a final bullet to the head and it slumped to the floor in a series of grunts.

Meanwhile the Boomer had found something to entertain itself, he had found Hunter's group, he lined up his Boomshot and pulled on the trigger. This time it hit his desired destination as Hunter leapt away from cover into the open, a few of his group had been caught in the grenade, their bodies now scattered into bloodied pieces. Hunter screamed at the Boomer running at it in anger, forgetting about the perfectly good shotgun slung over his shoulder. The Boomer laughed at the teenager and before the boy had even reached him Drones had started to fire at him. He stopped in his steps as he wobbled on his feet clutching his chest suddenly. He looked down at his hands, now covered in blood, a look of disbelief on his face as if he couldn't understand how this had happened to him. He let out a cough as blood trickled out of his lips, and he turned desperately to Brewer.

"Help me," he cried, mournful and empty.

Brewer stood back, behind the safety of cover, shaking his head ever so slightly, a look of sadness crept across his face.

The Boomer had taken a lolloping step towards Hunter and had grabbed his arm, his sharp claws piercing the boy's skin, he looked back pleadingly at the beast.

"Please," he wept, tears had started to fall freely down his cheek now, as the pain seared through him.

"Die now!" the Boomer bellowed at him, as he threw him to the ground and lifted his heavy boot over the boy's head.

"No!" Brewer cried, jumping out from cover and firing at the Boomer's head. It stumbled backwards away from Hunter's stricken body, it was also enough for Washington to come out from the safety of the armoury and fire at the Boomer in response. His weapon leapt out at the Boomer constantly taking hits now with a renewed anger. Brewer kicked the beast back with his foot, leaving it at the mercy of Frost's Lancer. His teeth were clenched as he pulled the trigger again and again as the beast staggered around in shock. It had now dropped its Boomshot as it tried to defend itself with its claws. Instead it backed right into Frost and the revving of the chainsaw. For a moment it leapt forwards as it was suddenly sucked back into its force, Washington hesitated for a second unsure as to what he should do.

"Just dig it right in!" Brewer shouted back at him as he stood over Hunter's fallen body.

Frost closed his eyes as he pushed inwards, feeling as the chainsaw reached bone and the blubbery mass squealed in agony, the body started to kick out, twitching in response. In an instant blood starting splattering back at him, he turned his head and pressed the chainsaw sideways. It groaned momentarily through the heavy mass of bone and meat as it suddenly freed itself and with it a vast portion of the Boomer's intestines wriggling alongside the beast's body. It looked down at its guts before trying to turn to respond to Washington. How could the thing still be alive after all that?

He stepped back, exhausted, blood splattered across him, smearing across his face and he stank. He had no answer to take down the Boomer, granted it was unable to fight back but it was still standing.

A voice behind him made him turn, Eli had come out of the armoury and had picked up the Boomer's weapon, he was now aiming it at the lump behind Frost.

"Wash, move out the way!" he hollered. The grenade launcher just looked wrong in Eli's arms, it was huge and outsized him in all ways possible, but it didn't stop him. He pulled on the trigger and watched as the Boomer splattered across the courtyard, finally defeated.

"Elijah, the Drones aim it at the drones!" Brewer directed, he had now pulled Hunter into safety and was watching from the sidelines.

"I think I only have one shot left," he called back, checking the weapon as he hid himself with Washington behind the Angel Statue.

"How do you know how to fire that thing?" Frost asked him, crouching beside him, bemused that Eli could pick anything technical up and know what to do with it.

"Well it's a type of gun isn't it," Eli responded simply, "you think you could take my weight? This thing kicks like a mule and I don't fancy ending up on my back."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Go on your hands and knees so I can lean against your back,"

"You what?" Washington looked back at him aghast, almost tempted to turn the chainsaw on Eli.

"I need to lean against something to get the right trajectory for the grenade," he responded easily as if he was asking to borrow a pencil.

"Why? Surely you just need to hit the Drones,"

"Why hit the Drones when you can hit the emergence hole and stop the rest of the buggers getting out,"

Washington sighed as he placed his Lancer on the ground and dropped to his hands and knees as Eli positioned himself against his back sitting on the ground. He pulled his knees to his chest as he steadied the Boomshot, one eye shut as he aimed the launcher at the Compound gates and the incoming Drones. He heaved on the trigger, feeling himself be pushed against Frost as the shell sped out of its cannon into the troops not far from them. The ground shook as Drones scattered, some missed the explosion some were hit partially, their bodies were thrown forward. But importantly the hole had been sealed. Eli leapt forward from Frost in celebration letting out a whoop. Washington pulled himself back to his knees and retrieved his Lancer, attaching it to its sling and letting it sit against his back for a moment. There was a smile on Eli's face he hadn't seen in a long time. This was a guy who enjoyed getting his head round a predicament, he worked well with Frost, despite their differences, together they had always seemed to get it done.

"If you tell anyone I ever went down on my hands and knees for you I'll most definitely kill you," Frost mumbled with some threat, why was it Eli's ideas had often resulted in him demeaning himself in some way.

Eli chuckled to himself, "Don't I know it."


	12. Chapter 11: Retrieval

**Chapter Eleven – Retrieval**

* * *

><p>Aidan quietly crept into the dormitories, casting her eye across each of the beds in turn in the hope to pick up any movement of the missing boy. She let out a frustrated sigh. She had always hated hide and seek as a kid, the notion of searching countless hiding places for the possibility of finding giggling kids really did not appeal to her. Usually whenever she had been 'it' she used to watch them all run off to hide then walk off in a completely different direction and wait there till everyone had either gotten bored of hiding or couldn't stand the tension any longer. This time however she couldn't just sit back and wait for the boy to come to her. He was a scared child that knew very little about the threat they were facing. Typical she was left with the only person on the Compound that didn't know how to protect himself. As she made her way into her family's sleeping quarters she scanned the room, dropping to her hands and knees to look under the beds in case the boy had really taken it upon himself to hide well. She had a feeling it was going to be one of those days, playing babysitter to a child who seemed to excel in getting himself into trouble.<p>

"Hey kid," she called out, already aware that the boy wasn't within earshot.

Considering how much she hated hiding, Aidan had done a lot of it during her life at the Compound. It was something that the Lieutenant had sworn to her from the day he had taken them in, plus it was the only request left by their father written on the note with a wedge of money tucked inside their basket. The twins were never to be parted and protected from the farms. So as a young child the Lieutenant used to play hide from the COG with her. The moment the troops came in to collect the newly fertile females in the Compound, Aidan used to hide in the loft. Brewer had trained her to hide as discreetly as possible, so if COG squads came in to search the sleeping quarters there would be no visible signs of her escape. She had even kept a bag hidden safely in the rafters inside the loft with random personal effects should she need to flee the Compound. Even from a young age the Lieutenant had taught her about patience and the need to use a Longshot should she ever need to protect herself from a distance. Subsequently in the hours she used to spend in the lofts she sat and lined up her sights on the Sniper, playing target practice with obstacles randomly scattered around the wasteland outside the grounds, hiding the weapon where no one would ever find it. She knew the layout of the loft system better than she knew about the ground floor complex. She had worked out exactly where a section would lead her and which tiles were loose around the buildings. She had also marked out an escape route many years ago, during her rebellion years when she had dreamed of running away to find her father. That was until her attachment to Washington had kicked in and he had persuaded her otherwise.

Approaching the drawers where her family had kept their own personal mementos she pulled each one open and took out a couple of each item, placing it in a knapsack ready in case they didn't have an opportunity to return to pick any important items. She took hold of a woollen shawl and wrapped it over her shoulders, pinning it with a small lapel badge of the deaths head COG symbol, a gift left by her father that had attached her name to her clothes. Now feeling a little warmer she clambered onto the drawer unit and poked at the ceiling tile with the muzzle of the shotgun, wedging it out of place and reached up to slip the knapsack into the safe depths of the loft. Slipping back to the ground on light feet she left the sleeping quarters with her mind set on finding the boy.

It wasn't until she felt a sudden rumble beneath her feet that a shiver crept up her spine. She had experienced enough Locust in her life to understand what to expect when the ground started shaking. She edged to the dark stained glass window and peered outside, she could see a troop of Locust making their way into the compound with very little resistance from staff or children. Some separated from their troop and started to make their way into the building, looking for weak children to pick them off one at a time. In that instant her instincts told her to do one thing, head for the lofts. She picked a place just above a wardrobe in another sleeping quarter she didn't quite recognise. She made sure she didn't displace anything as she took a running jump and heaved herself over the top of the cupboard, quietly pushed the ceiling tile across enough for her to slip into the safety of the loft, securely locking it back after her. She straightened herself up inside, glancing back down the darkness letting her eyes adjust themselves to the dramatic change in light and picking out her location above the Compound. Quickly she picked her way down the length of the room, locating the spots she knew were quieter under foot. She could hear the Locust below her grunting and clattering around the rooms. For a moment she pressed herself against the hard wooden planks to peer between the gaps in the ceiling to look down at the whereabouts of the monsters. She could see them tossing the room about as they scented for a child. Every now and again they would pause and sniff the air before rushing to another area and destroy any hiding places, letting off a burst of gunfire to ensure that nothing was alive.

Aidan realised now that she had to find the little boy before the Locust did otherwise he would most certainly have very little chance in their hands. She quietly rose to her feet and lightly stepped over the beams following the direction the Locust would follow. Counting each footstep where she remembered each sleeping quarter lay, she could hear the gunfire behind her as the Locust sniffed the ground below her. She was almost running through the loft till her brain set upon a different location. She remembered it as the canteen area, the smell of food wafted up through the ceiling and she felt her stomach rumble in response. She quickly clutched her belly in hope not to alert the Locust to her position and lowered herself to peer into the room through the ceiling tiles. She could hear a noise that was most certainly not Locust. A weak whimpering coming from the far corner of the room. She got up and walked to the area she predicted the sound coming from, slowly pulling the ceiling tile back to peer down. She couldn't see anything but she could certainly hear a feeble crying noise. She pulled the tile back a little further and called down into the room.

"Psst, kid is that you?"

The crying paused for a moment before starting up again.

"Hey, err..." damn what was the boy's name again, "Dave... can you hear me?"

The crying stopped and the cupboard door slowly creaked open below her and a little head poked out.

"Wh...Who's there?" he squeaked.

"It's Aidan," she called a little louder this time, then hearing the monsters crashing ever closer to the canteen, she pulled the tile right back and poked her head out, "Listen kid you need to get out of there."

"I can't," he whimpered.

"Why the hell not?" she snapped frustrated now.

"I'm scared,"

"For crying out..." she mumbled to herself, there was only one way she was going to get the boy out and that was to get him herself. Although she had marvelled at the child's ability to hide so well in such a short space of time. She let out a breath and dropped down from the ceiling onto the work surface cringing at the muffled clang from the impact, and then jumped to the floor, crouching to the boy's aid.

"Come on kid, get up," she pulled the door open a little further to see the boy in a rather roomy cupboard, he had crouched into a small ball, wedging himself as far back as possible. He shook his head defiantly as she offered her hand to him.

"I can't, you'll just take me away from him again,"

"Look kid the only thing I'm concerned about right now is getting the hell outta here,"

Too late.

A hiss sounded at the far end of the canteen signalling that the Locust had finally reached them, she shook her head and squeezed into the space with the boy. She could feel him shaking next to her, his teeth chattering away. She was quite certain that that was enough to give away their position to the monsters seeking them out. She pulled her knees right to her chest and positioned the shotgun so it was aiming right at the cupboard door. She then placed her other hand against the boy's mouth as he let out a little squeak in protest. She sent him a look that swore that she would kill him herself if he made as much as another sound. Her heart thundered inside her as she thought about the safety of the loft where the Locust wouldn't find her, but instead she was stuck in the biggest kitchen cupboard she had ever encountered.

Their footsteps thudded ever closer, she could smell their putrid stench already as they grunted to each other in communication. She picked out little words that she thought were 'tiny ooman' and 'slaughter' she could almost feel them now, so close as they ran their rough scaly claws over the work surface scenting out their prey. David next to her was quaking so violently she could feel his tears run freely over her hand and his teeth chatter silently against her fingers.

She held her breath and tightened her finger on the trigger. Should the monster pull the door open to reveal them, she was ready to greet it with a blast from her gun. Each step came closer to them. She closed her eyes unable to believe that this was it, after all this time she was going down in a cupboard surrounded by creatures with much bigger weapons than hers. Her heart had almost stopped, the thudding inside her had slowed down dramatically as she prepared herself for the inevitable.

She imagined them reaching a claw round the handle, tightly gripping it and creaking the cupboard open.

A loud clatter sounded from the neighbouring school room.

The claw realised the handle and the Locust turned away from the cupboard, heading swiftly out of the canteen.

Aidan wasted no time, she almost fell out, gun first. Quickly giving the room a sweep over then grabbed hold of the boy and pulled him out. He was now a weak gibbering wreak, his cheeks stained with tears and he gripped hold of her as tightly as he could. She lifted him to the work surface, noticing that there was a large wet patch on his shorts where the little boy had quite clearly wet himself. Remorse swept over her and she had to stop herself from hugging the boy back in reassurance. Instead she clambered up to the work surface, unpeeled the boy to stand up.

"Reach the ledge of the ceiling tile, pull yourself up,"

The boy looked back her, "I can't."

"Please David," she looked back at where the Locust had left the room, a niggling doubt that it wouldn't be long till they returned to find them, "You have to do this."

Reluctantly the boy reached one arm up to grab the hole into the loft, she bent down and grabbed round his legs to help lift him up, pushing him up to safety. Quickly she passed her shotgun up, closed the cupboard doors as if nothing had actually been in the room and heaved herself up after him. The muscles in her arms crying out as they took most of her weight as she pulled her body up into the gap. She then pulled the ceiling tile over the hole and securely clicked it into place.

A sense of dread filled up inside her. They had been saved but at what cost, as she realised that most of the children would be hiding out in the school room, as had always practiced. They were now sitting targets.

She led the shaking boy away from the kitchen area to somewhere the Locust were less likely to smell him, and knelt down to look at him.

"Stay here, I'll be back, I promise,"

He looked at her, unable to respond, his body shaking wildly in convulsions. She pulled off her shawl and placed it around the boy's shoulder in the hope that it might ease him slightly. She then headed off in the direction of the school rooms. She didn't need to look far she could hear it before she could see anything. She hesitated, sickness rising up inside her, she could hear the children crying in the room they had always thought was safe, unaware of the Locust approaching.

Aidan dropped to the floor to peer through a gap and heard it creak under her, she could see them all there, the little ones all tightly bunched together holding onto one another. None of them able to protect themselves. As the monsters rattled the door handle into the school room.

She could see a small vent which the children could squeeze through leading them to the safety of the air duct unit. She crawled across the floor edging closer to them in the hope to coax them through. Before she could even dislodge the ceiling tile the heavy sound of boots smashed against the door hinges as it shattered under their impact. The door burst open crashing loudly against the floor. Two huge Locust stood baring weapons bigger than Aidan had ever seen, they barely took note of the room's occupants before they fired their guns.

Sounds of screams filled the air.

Desperation and loss of children so small, so innocent.

Aidan went to pull away and heard the tile creak ever so slightly under her weight. She froze to the spot, too scared to make a noise any further. She closed her eyes unable to watch the massacre below her, her cheek pressed against the tile as she wept silently at the pain of failing those lost children. She wanted nothing more than to run away and hide.

She could have saved them.

If only she had a little longer.

She listened as the Locust swept the room for any survivors and fired bullets at any hiding children to finish them off. They sniffed the surrounding area for any further scent of living humans. With a grunt they triumphantly left the room.

She let out a stuttered breath and finally pushed herself up against the rafters unable to stare back at the lifeless eyes of the children she couldn't save. She wanted to get out now, the metallic stench of blood and death filled her nostrils. She felt the souls of the lost children clamber suffocatingly around her, questioning, why?

* * *

><p>It took her a while to gather her senses together, whilst she had sat there sobbing her heart out. A part of her kept niggling at her to get up and return to David, but there was no way she was going to show her pain to this boy when he was so scared himself. Eventually she weakly rose to her feet and staggered back towards the boy.<p>

He sat there watching her, still shaking nervously as she approached, she rubbed the heel of her hand against her eyes to wipe away any remnants of tears.

"Come on David, we have to get out of here," she offered a hand, her voice faltered a moment, she closed her eyes to steady herself, uttering a few words to herself to keep her confidence going.

The boy grabbed her hand tightly and walked closely to her as they stepped across the loft towards the place she had previously hidden her possessions. She picked up her Longshot, attached it to her rucksack which contained boxes of rounds and slung the both over her back. She then handed the knapsack to David, gently placing it over his shoulders and led him away to a gap in the roof structures which she had attached with a hinge. She pushed the slate tiles back revealing the night sky to them and a rush of cold and stifled air greeted them. She kept hold of the boy's hand as she led him onto the base of the roof, where she had created a flat hiding place, safe from being found by anyone in the outside world.

"Just lie here a second Dave, keep close to the roof,"

She dropped to her belly and wriggled up the pitch of the roof to peer over into the courtyard, she could see the two Locust head toward the exit of the building coming around behind Washington and her brother. A hot sense of hatred filled her body, like bile rising up in her stomach. She had never hated anything so much in her life. She untangled her Longshot from her rucksack and set it up on the roof pitch. She couldn't save those children, but there was no way that she was letting those monsters walk away freely. Digging in the bag she pulled out a box of rounds and set them up beside her, slotting a couple of bullets into the chamber. She then lay down and sighted the creature up with the gun, she had never aimed at anything moving or alive before, she had always used bottles as target practice. But there wasn't any time to worry about lack of training, these creatures had to be stopped before they easily wiped anyone else out.

She closed one eye and lined one creature up, she tried to slow her breathing, but her heart thundered too recklessly inside her.

She couldn't do it.

Her hands had started to shake and before she knew what was happening tears had started to stain her vision again.

"Come on Aidan," she chastised herself, "You have to do this."

As she lay back on the roof she felt a draft of air batter roughly against her. She turned momentarily to see a King Raven approach from the darkness, its loud thundering filling the air as it drew closer. Her heart sank, the COG were coming to save them and all was lost for her. She could see at least four soldiers in the aircraft each one firing at the Locust within the Compound. She slid back down the roof to the flattened safety of the walkway she had created and she poked at the boy.

"Come on kid, your ride has come,"


	13. Chapter 12: Blood

**Chapter Twelve – Blood**

* * *

><p>Brewer slumped down beside the barely conscious body of Hunter, he started to question himself as to why he felt so useless. Why couldn't he protect a group of children from a relatively small Horde of Locust. Why was he leaving it up to two teenagers? He could only marvel at their boldness, he could barely even remember when he'd ever used his brain in such a circumstance. He reached over and touched a finger to Hunter's pulse, a very light thudding barely tapped back at him. It had slowed since he had last checked, ever so slightly he could feel the boy's life slowly slip away from him. He pulled back Hunter's blood soaked shirt to reveal a puncture in the teenager's chest. Blood pooled round his belly button oozing from the hole in his torso. Bloody bubbles erupted from the wound as the boy gurgled back at him. His lungs were starting to fill with fluid and his ghostly eyes gazed back at the Lieutenant, barely recognising the man who had protected him for over a year. Brewer pressed his hand hard into the wound to try to stop the bleeding, like he had done so many times all those years ago with his soldier buddies, back when he was useful as a soldier.<p>

"Come on Hunter stay with me lad,"

Hunter's eyes rolled back into their sockets as he tried to gaze back at him, his head flopped over onto one side and he let out a gurgle. It was hard to believe that this lad had once been part of his more efficient recruits.

Brewer thought about Hunter's mother, she had been a medic during the Pendulum Wars, a clever lady who had helped stitch him back together when all had been blown apart. He had never forgotten the look in her eyes when she had made the decision to hand her son over to him. He knew she would never forgive herself. She had promised the boy over and over that she would return when the war had ended, that the last final push was coming and she'd be back before he knew it. Almost two years later no end to a war that lasted a lifetime and her son was now dying in his arms. What would he tell her the day she finally returned to him?

He hated keeping secrets from these kids. All those promises he had made to parents to keep their identity a secret, paying him so much money to protect their children. How long before the outside world could see the adults these kids were growing into? How close they were developing into their parents without even knowing them. He could only do so much to hide them from the real world before it caught up with them.

His eyes settled upon Washington and Eli, it scared him to think how similar each boy looked like their fathers. The promises he had made to do everything to keep the pair out of the COG for as long as possible. How long could he possibly keep this up?

The sound of the Raven overhead made his heart soar. At last an ounce of hope for his little compound, soon with the help of the COG they would drive the Locust out and get back to normality. At least this is what he hoped. He could see four soldiers crouched inside the craft's belly, all armoured up, helmets fixed tightly and Lancers held at the ready. The rotors of the craft whipped the loose dust and earth around him, he leaned over Hunter trying to protect the boy from any further damage as blood and dirt mixed together around him.

"You hear that Hunter, help is coming, keep with me lad,"

Afraid to remove pressure from the boy's chest, Brewer had almost forgotten about the Locust threat and that the only people holding the beasts back were the pair taking cover behind the courtyard statue.

* * *

><p>The man was too distracted to see or hear one lowly Ticker as it scuttled towards his cover. It sniffed around the wall picking up the scent of Hunter's blood and edged ever closer to its prey. Its claws scratching at the ground around it. Feeling the weight of the ticking bomb loaded to its back, its mind had been programmed to do one thing, create hell regardless. It placed a claw against the wall as it tried to lever itself over, peering eagerly over the ledge and picking up sight of its target. It let out a little hiss of delight, human victims within reaching distance. Edging around the wall it wiggled its bomb to activate it and scuttled closer. It opened its jaws in glee, after so many months of training it to do the right thing now it was achieving its purpose. The humans wouldn't know what hit them. Creeping right behind Brewer as the man protectively held himself over the fallen boy's body. It let out a hiss of joy as it jumped into the air letting the final ticks set the timer off.<p>

* * *

><p>A line of gunfire burst into the ticker. A Gear standing behind the cover of the Angel had picked up the creature and had sighted it in his Lancer, letting out a blast of bullets at it. The blast was still enough to knock Brewer over the boy as he fell into an unconscious lump.<p>

The Gear leant heavily against the base of the statue, pulling his Lancer back to his chest. He turned to the pair and nodded, his face hidden behind his helmet.

"Corporal Olly Wilks at your assistance,"

"Wash," Frost nodded, "This is Eli."

"Who's your commanding officer?"

Frost indicated the two bodies behind the destroyed wall, "The one you almost blew up."

"Ahh Shit," Wilks cursed, then pressing a hand to his helmet he spoke into his communication unit, "Cam, get here now we need a medic." He paused for a second before hollering back to the rest of his group, "Cam get your ass over here now. We need a medic pronto."

"I hate to burst your bubble but we kinda need help with these Locust first, you know life over loss and everything," Eli added from beside Frost, feeling relatively useless without an effective weapon now.

"One thing at a time, kiddo," Wilks responded leaning out of cover and firing back at the drones with ease, "Cam where the hell are you?"

"I'm a comin' Wilks no need to git your grundies in a twist,"

Wilks mumbled to himself for a moment as he turned to the arrival of the shortest adult man that either Frost or Eli had ever seen. Wash had always been a tall lad, especially now that he was starting to grow into adulthood, but this guy was shorter than Eli, and Eli was no tower himself. Growing up in a compound filled with children you got used to the smaller ones and respected them for their differences, and the same should be for this Gear. But it still didn't stop Wash from stopping to stare at him. It wasn't until he had a harsh dig in the ribs that he realised that he was pulling attention to himself and that Eli had to remind him about it. Quickly he turned his concentration to the Locust, not before noticing a smirk on Eli's face as he cast him a glance.

Despite his height Cam looked like any other battle worn Gear, tiredness lined his face as he ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair. Tribal tattoos etched their way across any visible section of skin, arching down his arms in a wave of elegant twists ending in a swirl around his fingers. He leaned down to dig through his medical kit, pulling out swathes of bandages and wrapping them around his wrist into a large loop. As he did his COG tag slipped out of his armour revealing two wedding rings looped through the strap, they clinked against each other causing him to pause for a moment and very gently tuck it back inside the safety of his armour. Stretching back up he peered out from behind the statue at the injured Lieutenant.

"Cover me, Wilks" he grumbled, "I sure as hell don' wanna have Locust takin' pot shots at me."

"Yeah yeah, got you covered," Wilks replied.

The drones had started firing at the statue, attempting to take away the only shred of cover they had. Bits of the Angel started to chip off around them. Cam took hold of his kit and sprinted towards his casualties whilst Wilks fired back in defence. Frost felt compiled to join in, tugging on the trigger as it let out wild blasts into the oncoming Locust. Wilks paused for a moment watching Frost before reaching over and pressing his hand down at the top end of the Lancer.

"Try aiming a little lower to start with. It'll naturally kick upwards on its own," he commented, lifting his hand away, "If you start by aiming high, all you're gonna hit is air and waste ammo. We need to maximise Locust hitting space."

Frost bristled, hating the idea of someone other than the Lieutenant telling him what to do, let alone a faceless Corporal.

"You always aimed higher than you should," He heard Eli snipe next to him, it took all his patience to not elbow him in the nose. He partially turned and sent Eli a look, who stared back at him unblinking as if he meant every word.

"I'm trying, alright," he snapped back at the both of them, aiming the Lancer almost at the Locust's toes and firing off shots at them, instantly feeling the gun kick upwards as he held the trigger. Damn the man was right for once.

Eli watched feeling stupidly helpless amongst the action as the Gear and his squad had positioned themselves behind cover each taking carefully measured shots at the Locust. He wished he could see the determination in their eyes rather than the blank visored reflection from their helmets. He listened to the Corporal yell his directions to the team and they responded as if it was second nature to them. He turned to watch the Locust, these monsters he had grown to fear as they bellowed and yelled back at their own troop. He was certain he could hear the words 'fall back' roaring from their grey scaly lips as they returned fire at the humans. He heard a Gear behind him let out a cry as bullets pierced through the armour sending him crashing to the ground.

"Ah shit," Wilks swore again as he turned back to the fallen Gear, "Tate, you alright?"

A moan came from the fallen solder.

"Stay with me pal, Cam will be with you,"

Eli could hear the anguish in Wilks' voice, his total helplessness at not being able to help his squad mate as he returned fire upon the group of Locust.

"Cam, Tate is down, we need you here once you've finished there,"

"One thing at a time Wilks, these two are in a bad way an' I need to stabilise 'em first,"

"I'll go to him," Eli blurted out, not stopping for permission from the Corporal and lowering himself as close as possible to the ground.

"Where the hell are you going?" Wilks cried back at him, "Get your ass back here,"

He ignored him as he sprinted across to the fallen Gear, readying himself behind cover as he linked his arms under the solder and heaved him slowly to safety. The guy was built like a brick, which made it so much harder to slide him behind cover, his hands still gripping onto his treasured Lancer as he groaned in response.

"Hi, Tate is it?" Eli didn't stop for an answer, "I'm Eli and I shall be your medic till official help arrives. There's only one snag, I'm not too sure what I'm doing."

The Gear let out a moan from behind his helmet, which Eli took as a criticism, but he let it wash over him as he took a look at the injury. Blood was seeping from a wound in the Gear's upper thigh and from his chest.

Yes it was confirmed the guy was bleeding and he still had no idea what he was doing.

Pressure, surely that was something their medic had once taught them during first aid training. He was almost certain he wouldn't have to use CPR in this circumstance unless the Gear's heart stopped beating. Plus he would have no idea how to take the armour and helmet off to apply that method anyway.

He let out a sigh and decided to pick the wound that looked like was oozing the most blood. Typically it was the thigh wound.

"Right Tate, don't take this the wrong way but I'm going to put pressure on your upper thigh, which is going to be kinda weird for the both of us, but I figure this might save your life," he babbled as he pulled one sleeve up his arm then another. He cupped his hands together and blew on them before placing them lapped on top of each other firmly onto the wound. The Gear let out a howl as he did, bucking out in response. Eli moved his head back quickly to avoid a swipe as the guy flung his arms out, he was just out of grasping range, thankfully.

"Tate?" Wilks yelled out, uncertainty in his voice.

"I got him," Eli responded for him, feeling the stranger's blood ooze through his fingers and wondering why this didn't bother him.

Wilks had started picking the Locust off at an alarming rate, as if anger of a fallen squad mate was enough to motivate him into taking every one of them out. His aiming had gotten increasingly accurate as more Locust fell to their knees at his shots. Washington found himself picking up on the Corporal's energy, gritting his teeth and finishing off the ones Wilks had already taken down until it seemed that the remaining Locust had either all retreated or had been killed.

An eerie silence filled the courtyard, no gunfire sounded, nothing returned whilst all involved were starting to understand that they had finally won the battle.

Wilks all but dropped his Lancer as he rushed over to Tate's side, dropping to his knees beside Eli, who was still keeping his hands tightly over the thigh wound. Wilks swore as he pulled his own helmet off, tossing it aside to look his buddy up and down. For the first time Eli was able to see the face of the man who had saved them and it shocked him to see that the guy didn't look much older than Washington, yet he wore all the signs of a battle weary soldier. His features were dark and foreign alongside his olive skin, almost Indie in origin. A huge five clawed scram scar arced its way angrily down the side of his face and into his armour.

He very slowly unhooked Tate's helmet, easing it off ever so gently, to reveal a guy about Wilk's age. He was staring back at his squad mate, tears had started to slip from his eyes, he gripped hold of Wilks' arm.

"Sofie," he gasped, "Please look after her."

"No way Tate, you ain't doing that to me," he responded trying to fill him with confidence but failing. Eli could see the fear in his eyes as he looked up and called out, "Cam we need you here now, Tate's gone all hypochondriac on us."

For the first time he registered Eli and his attempts to save his friend, his almost black eyes met him face to face and he sent him a brief smile as he placed his hands on Tate's chest wound.

"You did good kid, it's appreciated,"

Cam arrived shortly after, carrying his medical supplies, placing them beside Tate and looking the pair up and down.

"He ain' a colander guys," he then pointed to Eli's hands, "I'll start with that one first."

"You got news of their CO?" Wilks asked as he watched Eli prise himself off the wound and Cam started his work.

"Got 'im stabilised, but he's gonna need medical assistance I can't give 'ere," Cam flicked a look at Eli who was watching him work, "The boy didn' make it."

"Shit," Wilks muttered turning his head away for a moment to let out a sigh, then looking back at Eli, "Sorry kid."

Eli lifted his head to look Wilks in the eyes, he could see genuine grief from the Corporal. A guy who had clearly been brought up so differently to him, yet not so different from him in age. It made him wonder how things might have turned out if his father hadn't sent him to the Compound, maybe he would have been the one on the floor riddled with bullet holes fighting for his life.

"His name was Hunter, his mother was a medic, she'll need to be told," he announced.

Wilks nodded to him, there was a lad somewhere in that man's heart who understood what it meant to lose someone the same age. There was compassion in the man who was helping to hold his buddy together.

"We'll take the body back to base and get the message to his mother," he said, "I promise you that."

Cam finished wrapping the thigh and moved up to the chest, applying pressure via the bandages as he wrapped it round Tate's chest. Satisfied he had done all he could he straightened up.

"He's stabilised but we need to git 'em both back to base," he stuffed the remaining bandages in his box, "Help me fix 'em to stretchers Wilks."

Wilks retrieved two stretcher boards from the Raven and helped to slide each casualty onto the board, strapping them both in tightly. He and Cam first loaded Tate into the craft, as he left Cam fuss with the securing he moved over to the Lieutenant, calling his other squad mate over to assist him.

A squawking sound came from the outhouses as David appeared, running straight towards the Raven. A look of utmost relief on his face, completely ignoring the others as he tried to lift a leg up to scramble aboard, but he wasn't tall enough to reach.

"David!" Eli called to the boy, "Where the hell is Aidan?"

The boy shrugged as he made no effort to make his way over to Eli, "Can I go home yet?"

"Not until we find Aidan,"

"You missing someone?" Wilks asked, as he walked passed them carrying the Lieutenant on the second stretcher.

"Aidan hasn't returned yet, should have been back with David over there," Eli responded trying to sound as vague as possible.

"What does he look like?" Wilks called back as he hoisted the stretcher onto the Raven, pushing David behind him with his boot.

"Around the same height as Eli, perhaps a little shorter, blonde hair like Eli, the exact same colour but longer," Washington added as he helped pick up the Hammerbursts the dead Locust had dropped.

"For Pete's sake," Eli snapped at him, sending Frost a look, "Aidan's my twin, okay?"

"Would have been easier if you'd have told me in the first place I was looking for your carbon copy," Wilks responded, sliding the stretcher into the hull of the craft, he then called over to Cam who had perched himself beside a wall, wiping the blood from his hands, "Cam I need you looking for survivors, pronto. We got half a twin missing."

Cam glanced back at Eli for a moment, let out an audible sigh and headed off in the direction of the outhouses, mumbling to himself as he went.


	14. Chapter 13: Left Behind

**Chapter Thirteen – Left Behind**

* * *

><p>Angelo was still quivering by the time Eli entered the room. Lem stood over him protectively with a gun way too big for him to be handling but he didn't seem to care. He aimed the gun as Eli stared down the barrel in bemusement, his hands raised slightly in surrender as he edged past him to pick up his own chosen weapon.<p>

"You can come out now, the Gears have cleared the place,"

"Ground still moving," Angelo muttered to himself.

Eli frowned, "Gelo you okay?"

"Ground still moving, we're not safe," he repeated.

"The ground is fine Gelo, the Locust have gone," he cast a glance at Lem who had a look of determined pride on his face, there was no way he would ever see the cracks appear on his best friend. He shook his head before letting out a light sigh, "Well come out when you're ready."

The other cowering children in the room were starting to unfurl themselves from each other and peer out into the night filled courtyard, slowly and uncertainly stepping out onto the empty battlefield. Lem stood beside the door wanting to come out but his loyalty to Angelo keeping him within close proximity.

Washington had started to pile the dropped weapons beside the now badly damaged Angel statue, all of its delicate features had been chipped away by bullet holes. A sadness swept over him as he noticed that even the statue's face was now missing, that look of motherly love that he had once sought when he needed it most was now gone.

Children were starting to emerge from hiding places all staring blurry eyed out into the courtyard at the Gears helping to pick up the debris around them.

Wilks solemnly wrapped up Hunter's body in a sheet, folding each end over the other as tidy as possible in order to protect the other children from the scene. Both men lifted their heads at the almighty scream coming from the outhouses. Wilks finished wrapping the body before straightening himself up and heading toward the disturbance. Cam had returned from the outhouses with a girl in a fireman's lift slung over his shoulder as if she was his latest catch. She wriggled and squirmed as he cursed at her, he offloaded her at Wilks' feet, still keeping hold of her wrists.

Wilks looked down at her. Icy rage in her eyes as she glared back at him with so much hatred, a mop of slightly curled blonde hair swept across her features as she all but screamed at him. There was fear in her eyes, he could see that clear enough. She looked wild in comparison to the other children in the Compound but there was no denying who she was.

"Aidan I presume," he asked, not waiting for a response, then flicking a glance at Eli, "Girl with a boy's name, sneaky."

"Let me go," she bellowed, trying to yank her arms out of Cam's grip, "Get your hands off me."

Eli had closed in on them, Washington right beside him.

"You can't take her!" Frost roared.

"Let her go, please," Eli pleaded, trying to appeal to the emotional side of the soldier.

Wilks sent him a look of confusion, then flicking a glance back at Aidan who, despite all the bravado of acting fearless, seemed to be quaking in her boots, this girl was afraid for her life. He gave Cam a look, who seemed to be enjoying this moment of power. A broad smile across his face instantly dropped at the order to release her.

"Let her go Cam,"

The medic gave him a smirk before suddenly releasing Aidan as she was mid pull, sending her staggering forward into Wilk's shins. She quickly straightened up, leaping to her feet in embarrassment and fled to the comfort of her brother's arms, she cowered for a moment within his hold before glaring back at him.

"Please don't hurt her," Eli kept a firm grip on her, "can't you just say that you never found her?"

Wilks shook his head, "I'm sorry I'm not getting you."

Washington took a step forward, placing himself between the twins, "Isn't that what you're here for?"

"There's a slight possibility we might be talking different languages because I have no idea what you're talking about," he rubbed his hands through his closely cropped dark hair, "We were sent here because we had an SOS from your CO. We were the only troop available for deployment, am I missing something?"

"The COG come to take the girls away to the farms, please, you can't take my sister from me," Eli held Aidan close to him, refusing to let her go.

Wilks raised his hands at them, sending a look to Cam who had clearly gotten bored with the situation and was returning to the Raven.

"Look you got the wrong end of the stick, I ain't taking anyone away other than casualties," he frowned at Aidan, how could she have ever thought that of him.

The brutish look in Washington's face eased slightly, as if his hackles had dropped in response. He eyed Wilks up and down as he stepped back in line. Frost was a big lad and he measured up to Wilks quite easily. He took it in mind not to tread on his feet any more than he had to. He took a step back heading towards the body.

"If you've finished accusing me of things I would never do, I have to get back to work. You've found your missing twin and I have a body to get onto a chopper," He turned ignoring any retorts anyone might make and picked his way over to Hunter's body, finishing by tying all the loose edges together so nothing untoward would fall out during transit. He then slung the body over his shoulders and carried it to the Raven. He was aware that all eyes were watching him closely.

"Who's that?" he heard Aidan ask, her voice audibly quaking.

"Aide, that's Hunter, he didn't make it," her brother responded.

Wilks heard a gasp, and the girl whimpered back to her twin, "Oh no, not Hunter."

"I'm sorry Aida," her brutish bodyguard soothed besides the twins, as he watched every step Wilks made.

As he reached the Raven, Cam watched him carefully pausing for a moment as the body was offered up to him.

"We got a problem Wilks," he said eying the body in Wilks' arms, "You put that body on 'ere and there ain't be no room for you."

"Man we need to work on your grammar," Wilks muttered as he eyed the space in the Raven, "How come we're full, I always thought these babies could fit a squad of at least six inside."

"It can, but pilot said with casualties and body there ain't no ground room space. So unless you wanna 'ang from the roof, there ain't no way that body is comin' with us,"

Wilks took a moment to process the information then offered the body up to Cam again, "Well then I'll stay here. You take the casualties and the body back to Jacinto, come back for me when you can. I made a promise."

"Damnit Wilks, what the hell you doin'? There ain't no point in me bringing a body back, total waste of space,"

"I'm sure those kids won't say that," he gave Cam a look, "I'm not in any danger here, it's not like they're gonna lynch me the moment the Raven disappears from the horizon. Anyway the way I see it, they've lost a CO, I'm hoping having someone here with Official ranks might keep things in order."

Cam snorted at him, as he took hold of the body and slid it into the remaining space on the Raven's floor, "Official ranks my ass. The way I see it, that growlin' mutt over there has jus' as much qualification as you do."

He indicated to Washington who stood nearby watching them closely.

"Fine, if he takes the reins I'm not stepping on his toes. I'm just here to provide firepower if any Locust return, pass me down a few sets of ammo would you,"

Wilks could hear Cam muttering to himself as he picked out a few clips of ammunition from a chest inside the Raven, offering it down to his Corporal. He had gotten used to his medic muttering profanities at him. He and Cam had a love/hate relationship, rooted from the day that he was stationed as his superior officer. Cam had always thought that Wilks was incapable of doing the job efficiently, partly to do with his age. Although a few months of proving his worth to him was barely enough for Cam to trust Wilks on the battlefield, he was still prone to the odd gibe in his direction.

Not that Wilks would ever admit it, but he was actually looking forward to spending some time away from reality.

"Suit yourself, we'll be back soon as I've got the casualties seen to, buckle in fer a long wait," He then hollered to the Raven pilot inside the cabin, "Fasten yer seatbelts guys, we're heading out."

Wilks took a few steps back as the rotors slowly started to swing round on the craft. Rapidly swooping faster and faster as the engines kicked in, the Raven gently eased off the ground and picked itself into the air, hovering for a moment as the pilot steadied the craft. Inside the holding bay Cam sent Wilks a salute as he leaned out, one hand holding onto a support strap. He returned him with a half wave, before the craft had lifted too high for him to see inside and the downdraft had almost blinded his vision. He watched as it took off in the direction of Jacinto, wondering how soon he would next see his squad again. Eventually he turned to the collection of children and teenagers who had now fully gathered in the courtyard, the eldest seemed to be the guy who had been holding fort when he had arrived. He found it weird that the only adult controlling these kids had been taken away in a Raven.

It reminded him of a book he had once read as a child, about a group of children controlling a remote island and overthrowing the adult population, before succumbing to the onslaught of horrific monsters. If anything it had taught him to be obedient as a child, lest he would face a fate worse than death. But then in hindsight, he pretty much faced monsters every day now, regardless of how much of a model citizen he was.

He took in a much needed breath to steady himself as he approached the eldest of the group.

"Well it looks like you're stuck with me for a little longer," he offered a hand out to shake.

Frost glanced down at it as if it were a foreign object, then looked back at him as he withdrew the offered hand. He'd calmed slightly since learning that Wilks wasn't out to take any more girls away from them. In fact most of his aggression had slipped away, but then combat situations did usually bring out the worst and best in people.

"Well it's appreciated what you've done for the Compound, we just hope we can get back to some kind of normality,"

"If I can help in any way whilst I'm here just ask,"

As he started to let his guard down a screaming came from behind him and before he even had time to ready his Lancer David pummelled into him. Although for a small weedy child attempting to ram into a heavily built fully armoured COG soldier, the effect was more like being nudged in the side. He lifted his arm to see the boy repeatedly bashing his arm against his chest plate.

"I was going home!" he screamed, "That was my ride home, why did you send it away?"

"Woah woah woah kid," he squatted down on his haunches to face the boy, grabbing hold of his wrists and facing him eye to eye. David's eyes searched him for a moment, then fixing his gaze upon the hideous claw gash down the side of his face. He looked away as if he couldn't stand to face the realities of the war he had avoided for so long.

"I was going home," he mumbled, dropping his chin to fix his stare at the dusty ground.

"There wasn't any room in it kid, that's why I'm still here, we had casualties that take priority over live bodies,"

"I wouldn't have taken up much space, you could have slotted me in, I need to be home,"

"But where are your folks kid, if you're here in the first place surely it's for a reason,"

"It was a mistake," he retorted, "I wasn't meant to be sent here."

"Kid if I take you back to Jacinto, you're pretty much on your own,"

"It's okay my dad will be there,"

Wilks looked up and caught an expression from Washington that explained everything about this little boy's delusion. There was only one way to face this boy and that was with brutal honesty.

"Look kid, if your dad is a soldier, he won't be at Jacinto, they've all been mobilised to Landown to start invading the hollow."

"Well why are you here then if all soldiers have been sent away?" David challenged.

Wilks released the boy and stretched up to his full height, "We lost our Squad Sergeant a few months ago and they put us on compassionate leave. Today was our first day back because we were the few remaining in Jacinto that could be spared to help you."

David didn't seem to pick up on Wilks' unspoken pain, the lost look in his eyes and the way he unconsciously rubbed a hand across his scar, instead all the boy thought about was about getting back home.

"So you were sent here to bring me back, I knew it,"

Wilks faltered, sending Washington a look of bafflement, he shrugged and shook his head in return.

"Kid I'm not promising anything,"

He moved away from the group to pick up his helmet, wiping off the earth and dust from the top, he examined it for a moment before placing it safely on the courtyard statue. He then cast a glance around the grounds and realised that there was a lot of clean up needed to return the place to normal. He noticed blood splattered across the ground at different places, with bits of body that not even he could recognise as Locust or human. Could these kids even get back to normality after all that had happened? After all a lot of their friends had fallen in the courtyard, he could see the pain on their faces. Maybe they would be safer in Jacinto, but how would they ever get there?

Slowly he started to heave the dead locust bodies away from the courtyard, dragging them through the dirt so they were out of sight. Washington had joined him, helping to pick up larger chunks, before retching at the sight and dropping it, then deciding to kick it out of the courtyard. The pair worked in silence, while the rest of children mostly watched the effort, until a boy came out of the armoury room looking unusually pale.

"Angelo, are you alright?" Frost asked as the boy watched the floor with a look of fear on his face.

"It's happening again Wash, the ground is moving. I can feel it, they're coming back, the monsters are coming back,"

Wilks drew alongside Frost and exchanged glances with him. Already he could see someone similar to himself, the same age, the same attitude, one didn't have a rank but Wilks could see the respect the others had for him.

"What are you talking about Angelo?" Frost frowned.

"They're coming back,"

"I don't think so, look I can't feel anything and I'm pretty well rehearsed in the occurrence of Emergence Holes," Wilks added.

"We need to run," Angelo tugged on Lem's arm, looking and acting much younger than he actually was. Lem watched him carefully, gun still clutched tightly in his arms.

"Lem what's Gelo talking about?" Frost turned to the one person who knew Angelo best.

"I don't know what you mean," Lem snapped back, he was starting to look jumpy as well.

"What's wrong with him?" Wilks asked Frost quietly, drawing beside him.

"I...I don't know, but he's behaving the way he used to when he first arrived here five years ago, all jumpy and terribly paranoid. I don't know what's wrong with him," It scared Frost that such an encounter with the Locust had caused Angelo to revert back to such a quivering state. It had taken him a long time to overcome his experience years ago, so much work, all lost in a second.

Angelo quickly approached Eli grabbed his arms and staring hard back at him, "Run, run!"

Aidan, who had been standing quietly behind her brother, suddenly stumbled to the ground. The group turned to look at her, she was usually clumsy so seeing her fall or trip over wasn't something new. But the fact that she had been standing still when it happened alerted them to it.

"Aida?" Frost asked her warily, "Please tell me you just did that to mess with Angelo."

"I wish," she grumbled, clambering back to her feet again, "the ground frigging moved."

"Don't joke Aide," Lem snapped.

"Why would I joke about that?"

Almost as if to prove a point the ground below their feet started to rumble.

"What the..." Wilks trailed off, steadying himself beside Frost, they both exchanged glances.

Right in front of them the statue in the courtyard started shaking. The small bits that had clung on previously started crumbling, tiny rocky chunks skittered down the body of the angel, bouncing off the base and rolling to a halt at Frost's feet. Then the cracks started to appear down the statue, etching its way up till the feature split completely in half and crumbled in a heap to the floor. The cracks spread across the ground zigzagging its way in between the children and up through the buildings.

Then the earth shook again, this time it was a hard rumble that shook them up through the depths of their souls. There was no mistaking it. Angelo was right, the ground was most certainly shaking. But this felt different, it felt like someone had grabbed Sera with two hands and shook it aggressively. Wilks had never felt anything as shattering in his life.

"Guys, I hate to say it but I think he's right," he watched as the centrepiece suddenly disappeared into the ground, along with his helmet, then the concrete below their feet started falling almost as if in a wave effect, "We need to run. Now!"

The group didn't need telling twice. Most were uncertain as to where to run to, others just followed the faster runners, but what they all knew was that staying still wasn't an option.

Wilks bodily picked up David as if he was nothing more than a Thrashball, half throwing him to his feet when Eli grabbed the boy's hand and heaved him along with him. Frost had a tight hold on Angelo who had started hyperventilating and stumbling with each step. Aidan for once managed to keep a step ahead with Lem almost on her heels.

A scream sounded behind them. Wilks turned momentarily to see the Compound buildings crumbling into the vanishing ground. A slender willowy girl had fallen in the rush, her eyes wide in fear as the building crumbled down on top of her. He let out cry stumbling himself, realising that the falling ground was catching up with him. He felt the earth give way underneath him as he fell behind the faster runners. He took a flying leap aiming for a ledge to grip onto as the area suddenly gave way and plummeted into the depths below. His hands grabbed purchase of something hard, but even that was starting to give way beneath him. His legs swung trying to find something to give him leverage but the rocks and earth crumbled under each prod of his heavy boots. He let out a yowl of desperation, as he tried to pull himself up, failing as each hold gave way under his grip.

Until a hand grabbed back at him, clutching at his arm, strong enough to heave him up, enough for him to kick out and lever himself over the lip. He grabbed back at the arm, feeling another hand take hold of him and inch him closer to safety as they dragged him away from the crumbling edge of the gaping hole below. He looked up to see the weary faces of Washington and Eli as they pulled him that extra inch away from his doom. Their eyes fixed on where their home had once been. He couldn't mistake the look of complete and utter loss in their faces.

They were all screwed.


	15. Chapter 14: Decisions

**Chapter Fourteen – Decisions**

* * *

><p>Brewer felt himself slip in and out of consciousness. His blurry vision picking out a darkened interior, his ears burned with a heavy thundery sound. Where was he? Every part of his body hurt with an indescribable pain. He struggled to move, his arms hit the straps of the stretcher, he couldn't seem to understand why he was restrained. He let out a moan, alerting the figure sitting beside him, he loomed over and placed a hand on his shoulder.<p>

"You're safe now, we're en-route to Jacinto, jus try to relax and enjoy the ride,"

"The kids..." he felt the words spill over his lips as he tried to speak, everything was still so fuzzy, even his brain was failing to operate.

"We got Wilks lookin' after em, they'll be fine,"

"Noyoudonunderstand..." Brewer's words slurred into one long nonsensical word.

"Relax pal, we gotcha covered, Wilks is a tough boot he'll look after 'em. This'll do 'im some good, knock 'im down a few pegs."

* * *

><p>"Shit, shit!" Wilks yelled down into the never-ending pit below them, dropping to his knees heavily, "My headset is down there."<p>

"Crap," Frost shook his head as he plodded away from the hole towards the surviving children, he was having a hard time trying to get his head around what had just happened.

"I don't understand... why... does he want... his headset?" David asked between loud convulsing wailing tears.

"My headset communicates to Control. Without it they won't know whether anyone survived this, so basically we're dead," Wilks had his head in his hands as he roughly rubbed at his face, his voice muffled slightly, "I took it off and put it by my helmet. I'm such a fucking idiot."

"I'm not denying it," Aidan commented sharply as she perched herself on a rock, turning her back and closing her eyes from the chaos around them as children wailed and howled at the loss.

For a moment all were at a loss to suggest anything, kids clung to each other in grief. Their emotions escalating with every new thought of their chance of survival. In a flash they were all tiny helpless beings who had all lost their home and loved ones and were left for dead in the middle of nowhere.

Frost sat heavily upon the dried dirt, drawing his knees his chest and resting his chin heavily upon his knees. He closed his eyes, trying to blank out the screaming from the darkness below them. Those poor survivors who had fallen to their doom only to be picked off by monsters in the night. What were they going to do now that they had no home to go back to, no normality to resume? Their useless existence ripped from under them. He had to fight it, he couldn't let the fear take him. It was up to him to remain calm and take the lead. He opened his eyes suddenly to look up at the Gear who was crawling on his hands and knees to peer down into the hole in despair. He wasn't going to get any help from him any time soon. He took the decision there and then to be the leader he had always been trained to be. He had to instil order from disorder and keep the remaining survivors alive. He leapt to his feet, assuming the role he had seen the Lieutenant take so many times.

"Right we need to get ourselves together, no point crying about this. The important thing is we've survived. I need a head count and any leaders to gather any of their surviving groups together,"

"Umm Wash," Eli looked at him sharply, one of the few still holding it together, as he tried to comfort David, "There's only fifteen survivors here."

"Fifteen, where the hell is everyone else," Frost asked, looking around the group in confusion.

"Down there," Wilks grumbled as he stared into the echoing depths, before scrabbling back from the edge to avoid slipping over any further subsidence.

"You're not helping," Frost sent him a look.

"So we have Frost and a Gear, what do you both suggest we do," Eli asked, desperate to get one of them focussed to protect the remaining group before they completely fell apart, "I can't remember your name soldier."

"Olly," he let out a sigh, "Olly Wilks."

"Right then Olly Wilks, I'm Eli, you've met my sister Aidan, there's Lem and Angelo, David is the newest here and the guy glaring at you is Washington Frost. That guy over there is Mike and he has two of his group with him, those two over there are brothers and the other three I've forgotten their names. But it'll be worthwhile introducing yourself to them."

"I don't get it why are you doing this?" Wilks turned to look back at Eli, a look of defiant pride in his eyes, "can't you just let it be?"

"If I let it be, we're all going to die. Now I'm not leader material but I can see you and Frost are perfectly capable of filling that role, so I suggest you work together and get us out of this mess," Eli was now shaking, he was trying so hard to act so strong that his body was finally giving up on him. He clutched his hands together, trying to keep the shuddering controlled, but Wilks could see he was just as scared as the wailing children in the group.

"Well," Frost asked Wilks aware that their survival was down to forward thinking, "what do you suggest?"

"We're not safe out here, that's for certain," he hoisted himself to his feet slowly looking around him for anything that might stand out, "Our best bet is to head to Jacinto."

"Jacinto?" little voices started mumbling together, "But it's so far away."

"Look it's going to be a long journey, but I don't think we have much choice. I know the general direction that the Raven headed and we're bound to meet a few local Stranded who can point us in the right direction,"

"That's based on the hope that Stranded will actually want to help us, I don't believe the Compound ever offered a hand of assistance the numerous times we had them scratching at the gates," Frost admitted with a heavy heart.

"Wash you have to approach this with some form of hope otherwise we might as well perish here," Lem interjected, tears tracked marks down his cheeks, he wiped a hand over his grubby face to push away the dampness, smearing dust across it instead, "I think I can help you."

"How?" Wilks asked him a look of curiosity in his eyes.

"I've studied maps of Sera as a kid, geography was my best subject, I have memorised outcrops and lakes around our region like the back of my hand. My family fled to Jacinto once already, it's instilled somewhere in my brain, it's just remembering it again. I've made it across this wasteland before I can do it again,"

"It's a lot to ask," Wilks couldn't help but admire the bravery coming from these children and he wished he could summon the courage to stand shoulder to shoulder with them with the dignity they deserved, each time he felt himself fall short, "You think you can guide us from your memory?"

"I can certainly try, after all I got Angelo and myself here five years ago, it's just remembering the landscape,"

"A lot has changed in five years, a war can alter a cityscape as if it were nothing more than toy blocks,"

"But it is still essentially the same country,"

"I applaud your optimism," he let out a heavy sigh, "Well there's nothing left for us here. We can't just sit around and wait for death, we need to move on. I'm guessing we both agree on the direction we're heading off in?"

Lem stood for a moment staring out into the wilderness, picking out rubble outcrops and bumps in the land. He closed his eyes trying to cast his mind back five years, trying to remember the metal gates as they towered above them, the route he had taken which had been etched somewhere into the back of his memory. He started to take a step forward then hesitated, opening his eyes to register the group around him, all watching every step he made. He then pointed towards the darkness.

"This way,"

Lem heard murmurs of doubt around him, the remaining few children wondering about his confidence. He knew these kids knew little about his past, and of the vast trek has family had done years ago, to them he was an awkward teen trying to prove he was braver than he actually was.

"Right guys lets head off," Frost called to the group, "keep together, everyone make sure they have a partner to account for the other, I don't want anyone losing themselves out here. Keep close, remember there are all different sorts of predators out here."

Aidan joined them, picking herself off the rock, and quietly rubbed a hand across her cheeks to brush away the tears she hoped no one had seen. She cleared her throat as she saw Frost watching her, she sent him a look.

"You sound like a tour guide Frost, at least get the urgency right," she snapped, her only form of defence to protect herself from any sympathy.

"All I'm missing now is the brightly coloured umbrella, well I suppose this'll have to do," Frost responded, he knew her too well than to feed into her sarcasm, instead he indicated his weapon, as he attached it to the sling over his back.

The children slowly gathered themselves and whatever they had left together, standing in a group trying to sort themselves into pairs, the smaller ones latched onto friends taking each other's hands and keeping close. Frost counted each child, shuffling the smaller ones into the middle of the group and moving the ones with weapons so that they were evenly dispersed throughout. He stood back for a moment to look at his handiwork with the mishmash of children. He then went to work with his own group, moving Aidan and Eli to the front then shifting Lem and Angelo to the back with himself. Satisfied that he had assembled an organised convoy he called over to Wilks, who had stood and watched the whole ordeal with a bemused smirk on his face.

"We're ready, I think,"

"See I told you," Aidan elbowed her brother, "Tour guide."

Wilks shook his head and muttered to the pair as he ambled up alongside them, "I don't get his logic, if the one guy helping me navigate is at the back."

"Yeah well Frost's logic is often flawed," Eli commented, he headed back down the line to Lem, "We need you up front, I'll stay back with Gelo."

The group slowly started their trek from their destroyed protection and home, some doubted the capabilities of the people leading them, some followed with a steadfast loyalty. But they all knew that their survival revolved around keeping together. They walked onwards through the darkness, listening out as the night creatures stalked them from a distance, easy prey if they ever let their guard down. Frost protected them from the rear, pushing Angelo on who kept dropping back, heaving in gasping breaths.

Wilks kept the group moving forward, using his navigational skills to direct them away from open wasteland where they were at more risk. Every so often he would pause to let the group catch up, he knew they were tired, scared and hungry, but the best way to keep the fear at bay was to keep them moving.

Lem stopped abruptly as his dim memories kicked in, images of a shattered town vaguely flickered into his subconscious, along with a human settlement, he recalled his father seeking shelter amongst Stranded, he was certain they weren't far from safety.

"There's a Stranded Camp not far from here, I'm certain about it, we need to keep going, we can rest for a while there, I remember my father did the same thing years ago," he announced, "Surely they won't turn down a group of kids."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Wilks had dropped back to walk beside Lem now, he turned to step steadily backwards calling to the group he now faced, "Listen up, Lem here believes there is a Stranded Camp not far from here, keep pushing forward till we reach it and you can rest there."

Voices lifted in hope as they pushed on in hope of the Stranded sanctuary.


	16. Chapter 15: Stranded and Separated

**Chapter Fifteen – Stranded and Separated**

* * *

><p><strong>-Few Hours Later-<strong>

The Stranded camp loomed ominously above them. High walls welded together with scraps of all different kinds of material, the peak of the fences wrapped with barbed wire – whether it was to keep people in or out was up for debate. The vast gateway loomed ever closer, a bloody handprint smeared across the metal panelling, almost as if someone or something had been clawing to get in - or out.

Aidan stopped in her steps, planting herself as far away as possible from the structure before them. There was something about it that made her very nervous. Frost, sensing her hesitation turned to her, placing a hand round her wrist in encouragement, she shook her head, refusing to move.

"Come on Aida," he urged, his voice ever so gentle, tuning instantly into her fears, "It'll be okay."

"No Wash, I'm not going in," she shook her head again and made to take a step backwards.

"Come on Aida," he repeated, firmly this time, reasserting his dominance and tightening his grip around her wrist, "We have to."

"No, you can but I'm not going anywhere near that place, I'm not safe in there,"

"I can't leave you out here alone and we need human security for just a night. We've been walking for the best part of a day I'm exhausted and these kids are scared and tired. We could do with human protection for a night to get over the traumatic events. I know they're Stranded but we have little choice, my priorities are to the younger members of this group Aidan and they need safety. I need you to understand that. You have to stop thinking about yourself all the bloody time,"

"Ever stopped to think what their reaction would be to seeing a teenage girl walking the wilderness? You haven't because you don't understand. If I go in there, I will not come out, simple as that. No negotiation Wash, I'm staying here."

"Aidan I not going leave you here alone. Stop being so stubborn," Frost snapped back, quickly losing his patience with her and roughly grabbing her wrists to drag her along. She struggled against his hold.

Wilks sensing the situation was about to blow way out of proportion stepped between them, placing a hand over Frost's to prise his fingers off her arm. She landed on the ground with an awkward thump.

"I'll stay with her," at their astonished faces he continued, "Look I'm a Gear, I'll be as welcome there as a Locust. So entering those gates are pretty much a no go for me as well. So Frost I suggest you go be the responsible leader, look after the rest of the group and take the others into the Stranded camp, trade for room and board. I'll stay with Aidan, she'll be safe with me."

Eli wrestled his way through the group to his sister, a look of concern across his face as he helped her to her feet. Not one to cross the boundaries between his twin he stared at her hard, she met his gaze and nodded. Exact icy blue eyes met and communicated through a bond formed in the womb. He understood his sister better than he understood himself. She blinked at him, ever stubborn, before passing him the rucksack.

"You're gonna need this to barter with, some things I salvaged from the Compound before evacuation,"

"Are you certain of this?" he finally asked, taking hold of the rucksack and placing it over his shoulders.

"As little as I trust him," she indicated Wilks who frowned at her in response, "I know I'll be safer with him than in there. If I go through those doors, I'll never see you again, I know it."

"What makes you think you'll see us again if you stay with him?"

"Because he's one of us now, either way he's screwed,"

"Cheers," Wilks sniped from behind her.

Frost eyed the large scale stronghold again, no one had come out to see them yet, but he had no doubt that they were being watched. He knew full well that Aidan was pretty much in danger near any human settlement, even when they reached Jacinto, but he didn't want to bring that thought to the forefront just yet. He gave the rest of the group a once over, fifteen of them left from such a large Compound and they all clung to each other as their last hope. He felt compelled to protect them all, but it didn't stop him caring for his family unit. He knew the majority were starving and sleep deprived. He had to provide them with the protection they deserved and as the leader he had no other choice but to take the decision to approach the Stranded camp. Nothing else would offer them the safety of somewhere to sleep without the threat of Locust invasion looming over them. For once he was relieved that Wilks was happy to step up to the plate and protect Aidan, he knew the guy was experienced enough to hold his own if the situation arose. He was starting to grow fond of Wilks, the guy was after all not that much older than him. It made him think of the similarities they might have had if they had grown up together. However the huge scar that sliced down the side of his face reminded Frost that war torn Sera was definitely not going to give him a chance to get to know someone his own age without ripping something else away from him first. His eyes stopped at Aidan, who stared back at him in return, fear filled her face, she looked like she was ready to flee at the first sign, which was definitely not like her. Something had happened to Aidan back at the Compound, something she hadn't openly spoken about, she seemed distant now, not willing to open up to him and tell him her fears, it scared him that he couldn't see the Aidan he once knew. For once he was going to have to entrust her life to Wilks, hoping that she would sort herself out in that time. He would die for Aidan, so he certainly wouldn't walk her into a situation with her life at risk.

"Look after her Wilks," he finally responded noticing the look of dejection in Eli's face, "I'm relying on you."

Wilks gave him a tired smile, "You have my word, her safety is my only priority."

"It better be,"

"You underestimate me,"

He shook his head, placing a hand behind Aidan's back to usher her away from the Stranded camp. They retreated a safe distance where they could watch the group enter the camp undetected.

* * *

><p>Washington let out a breath before he stepped closer to the structure, edging ever closer to the blood splatters along the wall. Doubts were beginning to set in, would these people even open the door for them?<p>

He lifted a hand to knock heavily upon the metal gates, listening to the thunder sound rattle the entrance. A thought passed over him as he stood tall and bold, there was so much wasted metal here, why wasn't it being melted down for bullets or weapons, and why hadn't the COG come to claim it all?

After an eternity a hatch in the door flipped open and a grimy face appeared in the gap.

"Yes?" it snapped.

"We would like to request a safe haven and food for the night,"

"Bugger off," the hatch slammed shut.

"We have some things to trade," he called back.

"Not interested in your crap," the sharp voice responded.

"I have children here that need somewhere safe to lay their heads for a night," he persisted.

"Sleep in the rubble like the other street vermin," the hatch opened again this time with the barrel of a shotgun poking out, "Now bugger off the lot of you before I start hunting you down for your skins."

Frost turned to take a step back to reassess his options, as he did Eli nudged roughly past him. He stood boldly in front of the hatch face to face with the shotgun.

"We've come from Junior Company, I know you've heard of us because we've lived almost side by side for years. You must have had loads of children come your way searching for us. We'll we're seeking refuge because the damn Compound has been sunk and we've lost everything. Our entire structure is now at Locust level. We don't need any more than one night as we are en route to Jacinto." He paused for a moment, "And I know you're still listening to me because you haven't fired that gun at me yet."

The voice behind the gun 'hmmmed' to itself for a moment, "Sunk you said, when did that happen?"

"Just over a day ago,"

"Locust involved?"

"We were raided shortly before, wiped out most of the adult protection and left the Compound undefended,"

"Many survivors?"

"Just the children and teens, most went down with the Compound and were picked off by Locust below, we're all that remains,"

The hatch slammed shut for a moment and Eli could hear mumbled voices behind the doors, some were raised as if the occupants had a problem with the decision they were making, others were lowered and calmer, either way Eli had no idea of their final decisions. He waited patiently till the hatch flung open again and the grubby face was back, peering at the group outside.

"What's in it for us?"

"A heads up, after all if there is a shift in the planet's crust then surely it won't be long before you feel it too,"

"Not good enough, we've felt no movement in the ground, we've had no Locust activity here either. If you aren't actually going to contribute anything to us, there is no point opening our doors to you,"

"Most of us are strong teenage boys, we are willing to work for our safety," he ignored the groans coming from the others behind him, "But we are tired and hungry and would appreciate the offer of human kindness."

The grubby face eyeballed him for a moment, as a voice alerted the person behind the door and he backed away.

Eli turned in confusion as the sound of the locks clunked open and the doorway slid apart. However, instead of Grubby Face they were greeted by a woman, she held a young baby in her arms. She patted the baby's back as she approached the group, assessing them all by sight.

"Come in kids," she chuckled as she passed the baby over to Grubby Face, "I'm Ma. Please don't let Pete's strict entry rules put you off. We've lived out here for so long we have to learn to protect ourselves, so we're not used to keeping guests."

She wasn't an old lady but something in her eyes suggested wisdom, the men in the camp stood back and watched her every move as if she was leader of this Stranded Camp. They waited for a nod from her before they pulled the gates back to allow the children to enter the base.

"Thank you for letting us seek refuge," Frost took over from Eli, "it's appreciated."

"Well I can't leave the kids of Junior Company out in the cold, as you rightly said, we've been neighbours for such a long time," Her thick caramel voice oozed as she placed a warming hand on Frost's shoulder, "Come on in and we'll get you fed and give you somewhere to lay your head."

As the heavy metal gates slammed behind them, Eli dropped into the back of the group following them as they were led inside. He paused for a moment, turning to look back at the shanty huts in the camp, he felt the strange sensation of being watched, as if there was something this camp was hiding from them.

* * *

><p>Aidan and Wilks watched as they hid a safe distance, the gates slammed shut and a shiver etched its way up Aidan's spine.<p>

"Exactly," Wilks murmured as he noticed her knee jerk reaction, "Come on girl with a boy's name, let's find somewhere to hunker down for the night."

"You know I have a name," she grumbled, following him through the deserted streets of skeletal buildings as they towered high above them.

"Still doesn't make me comfortable calling you a boy's name,"

"What kind of name is Wilks anyway," she retorted.

"My father's name, which I'd really prefer not to talk about, anyway, my given name is Olly as in Ollyvar."

"And yet your friends still call you Wilks,"

"Nah, my friends call me Olly, it's just Wilks is a lot quicker to say during battle," He picked his way through the rubble, stopping momentarily to eye up a building that looked like it was once a townhouse, its tall thin structure stretched higher than its neighbours. He took a few steps back to assess the buildings around it, looking down the long street either way. He nodded slowly, "I'll take this one."

He led her through the shattered front door into the smashed up living room, indicating for her to stay put as he took a quick look through the rest of the lower floor. He entered the kitchen, where he picked out obvious signs of someone trying to hold forth in their precious house. The kitchen table had been overturned with bullets buried deep in the heavy wood. He cautiously approached the other side of the homemade cover to find the remains of two human bodies, now only skeleton and tattered fabric remains of what once was a couple, clinging to each other till the very last ounce of their life force had left them. His heart sank, how many innocent victims of this war was he going to find, left with no hope of saving.

He heard Aidan gasp behind him as she approached the bodies, curiously kneeling down gently touch the skeletal remains.

"I thought I told you to stay put,"

"I don't take orders too well,"

"For pity sake just leave them alone, they've been through enough without you meddling with their bones,"

"They should be buried,"

"I doubt it'll make a difference. Dead is dead regardless of what deity you worship. What's the point in burying them if the Locust are only going to dig 'em up,"

"Why so critical?"

"Because these are just two of thousands of bodies left out there in the wilderness. Unless you wanna go on a body hunt for the rest of your life to burn them all, I would seriously suggest you find something more productive with your time,"

She looked up at him, then thoughtfully back at the bodies before reluctantly straightening herself back up. She slowly returned to the living room, gazing out the broken window at the destruction in the street.

"I've never left the Compound before, I've only ever seen grand and opulent buildings in books. But then to see these buildings looking like shells I keep thinking about how sheltered my life actually was. It makes me wonder why those monsters would destroy something like this?" she asked, turning back to him as he watched her from the kitchen doorway.

"Asset denial, and a different kind of monster. Humans did this."

"I highly doubt that humans were responsible for the corpses in the kitchen,"

"Oh Locust finished them off, but it was mankind that was responsible for the destruction of major towns and cities, leaving the rest open to Locust attacks to pick off the stragglers," he responded matter of fact.

"I don't understand,"

"We're both too young to distinctly remember, but it happened during our lives," he picked his way through the living room towards the stairs, testing each step before putting his entire weight on it.

She followed him eventually, placing her foot in the exact space as he did, stumbling a few times and opting to keep a hand resting on the wall to steady herself. As she reached the top step Wilks pushed the remnant of a bookcase against the stairs to block the entrance. She turned to examine the corridor, three rooms faced her and another rickety staircase led to the upper level. She picked one room at random and instantly wished she hadn't. Even though the furniture in the room was charred and burnt there was no mistaking the items belonged to a nursery, she could see a crib in the corner, a changing unit beside it. She stepped hesitantly into this ghostly room, totally unaware of Wilks watching behind her. Her foot crunched on something beneath her and she bent down to pick up a partially melted picture frame, blackened with soot and dust. She wiped away at the dirt across the cracked glass picking out a photo behind it, protected from the fire by the glass. She could make out faded features of a couple holding a baby, looking happy and content.

"They were a family," she whispered a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, "they were fighting for their family. For their little child. But those bastards took it all away from them."

"What's not to say that that baby ended up at your Compound," he added, slowly easing the picture frame from out of her hands and placing it of the charred chest of drawers away from her, "these people aren't yours to mourn. If you take all this to heart each time you see a destroyed nursery or a fallen family you won't make it in this world. Keep _your_ family close, not these people."

"I don't see how you can't feel for these people," she asked, turning to follow him back into the hallway, "they fought for their home and look at it."

"I used to be like you, but I've seen too many mothers and fathers destroyed by war, too many children blown apart by frag grenades to keep hurting. You have to be stronger than all this to survive yourself," He entered the master bedroom, standing in the middle he thoughtfully walked to the glassless window to stare out at the street below them, "I think we have a winner."

"How much pain and fighting did you have to see to become this emotionless," it was her turn to watch him sceptically from the hallway.

"Enough," he sent her a look, "Just shut up and help me push this wardrobe across the door."

She let out a sigh making her way into the bedroom to assist him, together they pushed the large cupboard towards the doorway, as they reached it he tipped it over so it made a small enough gap for someone to squeeze out.

"Can't be too careful, don't fancy being woken by wretches in my sleep,"

"If I remember rightly, don't wretches prefer the ceiling entrance?" she commented, indicating the gaping hole above the wardrobe.

"Hell I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't with you,"

"Well I'm trying to avoid getting the matching scar,"

He visibly flinched, "Someone is full of delightful complements today, aren't I glad I picked to stay with you."

He unhooked his Lancer from its sling and leant it carefully against the wall, slumping down beside it to examine it carefully.

"Hey I didn't ask for you to stay, you can leave for all I care, I can handle myself,"

"I bet you can," he said slyly, sending her a look, "Because the moment I leave the Stranded tracking us aren't going to pounce on you at all."

She dropped to the floor inside the skeletal bed frame and stared back at him, "Now I know you're lying."

"Am I?"

He avoided her gaze as he rummaged through his pouches, taking out a couple of ration bars and throwing them in her direction, she missed both of them, watching as they landed at her feet. She unhooked the Longshot, staring at the weapon in her hands before facing the barrel straight at her, Wilks leapt up and pushed the gun away.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped, wrestling the gun out of her arms.

"Nothing, okay," she lashed back, "I was thinking is all."

"Well do me a favour and don't, I lost too many people because they sat and 'thought' too much," he placed her weapon beside his Lancer, keeping it as far away from her as possible.

"Can you just stop it, I'm not going to be blowing my head off anytime soon and if I was I certainly wouldn't pick the Longshot. I can't even reach the trigger like that, at least give me some credit,"

"No, you get no credit for that," he snarled, "What the hell's wrong with you."

"Just leave me alone," she responded, matching his aggression levels, not really understanding why he was so upset, "I said it before I didn't ask you to stay with me. Just go."

"Fine," as if this was the final straw, he grabbed his weapon and slid the wardrobe back to wedge himself out and stormed away from her.


	17. Chapter 16: Of Men and Boys

**Chapter Sixteen – Of Men and Boys**

* * *

><p>Ma ushered the group towards a large derelict building, which looked like it had once been a small church belonging to the crumbled town nearby. The bell tower had long since been demolished leaving a huge gaping hole in the ceiling at the far end of the main structure. They walked quietly down the aisle towards a damaged pulpit, where a large statuesque deity leaned all open armed and judgemental over them. A few children huddled together on the strongly constructed pews, watching in silence as their host ushered a few men into the building with vast slabs of cooked meat. Frost stood and watched as the nondescript grey lumps of something smelling remotely edible was slid underneath the starving faces of the children, he wondered how these Stranded were able to find such vast amount of meat resources for so many people.<p>

"Please eat," Ma encouraged, "it may not look appealing but my men assure me it has the highest level of protein in it."

She offered a chunk to Frost, who momentarily held a hand up to refuse it, desperate to ignore his growling stomach. He knew he should go without food so the younger ones could eat more. Ma offered the chunk across the line where Eli stood steadfastly by his side, he took one look at the lump and his gut churned. He moved away from them as he felt a surge of nausea launch itself through his body.

"'Scuse me while I get some air," he gagged as he staggered away from the group to the building doors, he burst through and threw up whatever remnants were in his stomach. He stood for a while doubled over, retching and coughing, his body shaking in exhaustion.

He sat down to settle himself, trying to figure out what exactly had set him off. He glanced out at the shanty camp the Stranded had created. Lots of huts inexpertly pulled together with whatever was lying around, scraps of metal and sheets of chipped wood, clothes hung from lines strapped from one hut to the other and the smell of cooking filled the air. He caught sight of a small group of people standing hesitantly close to each other looking back at him. Momentarily forgetting his nausea he hoisted himself to his feet and plodded in their direction, as he approached he was able to pick out their tattered clothing, barely clinging to their limbs. As he drew closer he was able to distinguish their features, their matted filthy hair and slender prominent faces and in one particular individual a rather large baby shaped bump protruded from the belly. These were young girls. But as he looked closer, their features started to niggle somewhere in his mind, he recognised these faces.

"Oh god," he breathed as realisation finally hit home, these girls had once been part of Junior Company before being taken away by supposed COG forces.

For a moment he was unsure as to what he should do, the girls had stopped talking now and were watching him quietly. He could see the fear in their eyes, it shocked him to think that they feared him. He could only imagine what they had been subjected to. An immense sense of grief swept over, he had been friends with these girls, he had lived with them and now here he was with them looking back at him as if he was nothing more than a threatening stranger. A relief swept over him as he recalled his sister now safely away from all this, but he couldn't help these girls.

A noise alerted him away from the group of girls, a sound of a knife hacking through something, the smell of cooking also wafted out of the building. He stepped away from the girls, toward the building, peering in through the door. Once again his stomach lurched in disgust. Inside a scruffy looking man wore an apron covered in splattered blood as he swung a huge Butcher's cleaver down onto a hunk of meat that looked more like a rock than an animal. Eli stepped back to recover then peered in again, looking closely at the rock like creature the man was smashing up. He recalled the story that Lem had once told him about the Locust Butchers, chopping up creatures for the Horde, worm like things with a tough outer skin. This didn't look too dissimilar. His senses then drew to the smell of cooking meat as he saw a carcass spit roasting over an open fire pit, as someone else chopped the limbs apart with another cleaver, it took Eli less than a second to take note of the COG helmet on the head of the body. The knife slashed down again as the helmeted head rolled off the body and thudded onto the floor, splattering a bloody puddle at the man's feet. He ignored it and continued chopping up the body, throwing each limb into a huge stew pot over another fire pit.

He stumbled backwards in abhorrence tripping up over his feet and alerting the men inside the structure, they rushed out and grabbed hold of him, wrestling him heavily against the building. One thrust their cleaver against his throat as he stared back at them in fear. A smooth voice called out to the men as they turned, releasing him as he collapsed to the floor.

"My goodness what is going on here?"

"We found him snooping," one of the men responded.

Ma approached him, gently holding a different baby so it peered over her shoulder clinging tightly to her, "Snooping? Is this true boy?"

"You're eating humans!" Eli burst out, he really didn't know where to start, the fact that they had kidnapped the girls from Junior Company for nothing more than baby producing specimens or the fact that they were cannibalising humans, all of which appalled him.

"Not humans, COG soldiers, there's a difference," she didn't even refute his claims.

"I fail to see it," he then pointed to where the group of girls had once stood, "those girls are from Junior Company. You kidnapped them."

"We did nothing of the sort, we saved them from a terrible existence, raped and exploited by the COG."

"And what are they to you here?"

"They are respected and rejoiced,"

"What, as birthing machines?"

"Their children are helping the human race survive,"

"But they're barely out of their childhood themselves,"

"Such strong words for a teen, you have a lot of fight in you boy," Ma signalled for the men to take hold of Eli, they gripped him tightly round the arms, he let out a yelp as he struggled against them, one pressed a bloodied hand against his mouth. Eli gagged at the taste.

Ma sent him a brief cold smile, "Take him to the shed. I have a use for him."

Eli swallowed down a cry at the thought of being chopped up for someone's dinner, his knees went weak as he dropped heavily to the ground. The two men continued to heave him along, dragging him by his arms. He struggled, wrestling an arm free but the man turned on him and bashed him in the face with the hilt of the cleaver. Eli flopped unconscious as all went black and the men dragged his body to the shed for later use.

* * *

><p>Wilks dug at the loose earth with a shovel he had salvaged from a tattered shed nearby. He scooped the dirt away until it was deep enough. Then he carefully carried the remains of the bodies from the kitchen and placed them beside each other. He placed the framed photograph of the family next to the remains and stood over them in thought. A muddled mixture of emotions washed over him and he fought to push them back. Now was not a time to fall apart.<p>

"I hope you're in a better place," He muttered at the bodies, "I'm sorry you got involved in someone else's fight."

He picked up the shovel and started to pile the dirt over the remains, keeping his mind off the image torturing his emotions. Once the hole was filled he made a marker with nearby stones, not that anyone would actually visit the final resting place of two anonymous bodies, it was the thought that counted.

Eventually he dropped to the ground to take it all in and buried his head in his hands.

What the hell was he doing here?

He let out a steadying heavy breath. There was a lump in his throat he was fighting to keep back.

"Come on, you're stronger than this," he berated himself.

He rubbed his hands roughly over his face and felt the all too familiar spasm of pain kick back at him from his scar. They had said it would take a while for it to heal and that he was lucky that he hadn't lost his vision, yet somehow he kept thinking how that creature should have taken his life instead.

He wasn't living anymore, he was just existing.

Surely that was the only reason he had chosen to escape from the realities of his newfound responsibilities. How could he face the men he was meant to lead and protect when he could no longer do that to himself.

He could feel the darkness suck him in again.

All because she picked up that damn gun the wrong way.

It wasn't her fault, he was certain of that. How was she supposed to know that aiming a gun at herself would trigger him to relive a vivid part of his past he would rather bury. How could he move on if he wasn't willing to face what had happened. His therapist was right, he should have listened to her, he was not ready for this. He should have relinquished control of his squad to Cam and handed in his COG tags for good. But he was a soldier, a damn good one at that and when humanity was struggling to survive against the Locust he only had one realistic choice. Get over himself and carry on.

So here he sat staring out at the bleak wasteland watching the grey murky clouds gather in a sky no longer dominated with Kryll. Pretending to not give a damn about a reckless girl he had stupidly promised to protect.

A throat cleared behind him and he turned to see Aidan standing sheepishly, eyes fixed to the ground. He fought back his instinctive urge to push her away, now definitely wasn't a good time to break down.

Oblivious to his inner torment she spoke before he could say anything.

"I'm an idiot, I'm sorry," she started hesitantly behind him, "Frost always told me I was selfish and that I never thought about the consequences of my actions."

"I don't need your apologies," he sharply interrupted her.

"Yes you do. I've always used my gender as an excuse for my attitude. I've had to look out for myself or face a life I would rather not think about. I genuinely thought my time was up when I was thrown to your feet. You were the soldier that found me and I refused to see beyond your armour."

"Man have you got me wrong,"

"The gun thing. I'm sorry. I never once considered it would affect you like that. I keep forgetting I'm with a seasoned soldier not some kid fresh out of the Compound with very little Locust experience. If I could take it back I would," she quietly awaited his response, on receiving nothing her vision drifted to the mound of earth next to him, "you buried them?"

"Yeah well you kinda guilted me into that one. What kind of person would I be to ignore a plea to finally let suffering souls rest in peace," he murmured into the growing darkness, "Besides I never had a chance to bury my own father."

"Huh?" confused Aidan edged towards him and plonked her bum on the dirt beside him. Drawing her knees to her chest and crossing her arms over them.

"Nothing," he quickly dismissed it before glancing across at her, "I have no clue where you've had your past experience of men from but I would never harm you. I have unfortunately witnessed the birthing farms first hand and would never want anyone to be subjected to that. Besides I gave you my word to protect you and I meant it."

"I should have been born a boy,"

"That's a random statement if ever I've heard one,"

"If I was a boy then we wouldn't be in this situation, we'd be spending a night in that creepy Stranded Settlement,"

"But then if you were a boy your friend Frost definitely would not have that unhealthy attachment to you,"

"I hate looking at men thinking whether this will be the one that will take away my innocence. I have done so much to avoid being the weak female. The last thing I ever want to be is the damsel in distress."

"At least you're valued," Wilks commented, "Look at it this way, _you're_ important to the future of the human race."

"What?" She sent him a look.

"Being a bloke has its let downs as well. My father always told me that I was bred for a purpose. He knocked up some poor Indie woman and robbed her of her son to train in his own footsteps. I became an expendable soldier. Stick a helmet on and I'm one of thousands. My COG tags are my only distinguishing features."

"That's pretty cynical for a soldier of the COG,"

"Yeah well I lost my faith in the powers that be the day I lost my father,"

Aidan couldn't help noticing the mention of his father again. He was clearly suffering from some raw wounds which she wasn't certain whether she should be pushing for him to open.

"I've always been jealous of people who've known their parents," she blurted and instantly regretted her choice of words.

He turned slightly to look back at her frowning in bafflement, "What?"

"Sorry, forget I even said that,"

"You should count yourself lucky," he told her, "My mother was just a statistic so I was fortunate to never know what fate befelled her. But my father... I felt every damn thing. Even when he stared down the barrel of his own gun, pulled the trigger and showered me with bits of his brain."

"Wilks I..." she faltered as the reality of her own stupid actions suddenly dawned on her, "I'm so sorry..."

"As a child I was trained to know only one thing, to be the model soldier. Eager to please my emotionally distant father I did everything he wanted me to do. For years I followed the indoctrination and I worked hard to be a bloody good soldier. He recruited me to his squad so he could continue pushing me through the ranks. I would never have been a Corporal if he hadn't been so influential. But essentially we were different people. The older I grew the more I started pushing away from his control and questioning his actions. He was willing to sacrifice civilians for the advancement of the COG. He was a big advocate for the birthing farms and that was when I finally realised that I didn't want to be my father anymore. Our biggest disagreement was the day this happened to me." he drew his fingers along the scar down his face.

Aidan listened silently, she had never known anyone to speak so openly about their loss and the distressing emotions that came with it. She watched as he stared into the darkness, lost in his own personal nightmare. No spoken words would help him right now.

"The cracks were already starting to show long before but that day was the breaking point. We had lost four good people from our unit and my father had been radioing Control for support for hours. But we were the diversion and priority had gone elsewhere. We were surrounded by Locust in a factory habited with Stranded, mostly woman and children. With six of us remaining he had decided he was going to lay a trap to draw the Locust in and blow the place sky high. I had tried to reason with him and he had stubbornly refused to see my point of view. He punched me and I walked away from him, from it all. His last proper words to me were 'you are nothing more than cannon fodder you waste of space son a whore'. I told him to go fuck himself just before the Wretch jumped me. It took me down and tore me to pieces. I remember my father screaming at me whilst Cam tried to save me. Bastard kept telling me not to die. The report said that only four had survived, Cam was delusional from trying to patch me up but I was bleeding faster than he could fix. I guess my father just sat there unable to understand why we weren't important enough for the COG to save. So he turned the Gnasher on himself..."

He put his head in his hands and let out a long heavy breath realising there was a dampness building in his eyes. The lump in his throat pushing him ever closer over the edge.

"The remainder of the squad was out for months. I was in a medically induced coma whilst they tried their best to sew me back up and stabilise me. It took me a long time to recover from the physical injuries, I don't think they even considered the mental impacts. I was in intensive care for months before I even knew my father had even taken his life. Apparently I kept asking for him and they kept skirting around answering me. When the drugs finally wore off Cam told me the truth. They had taken his COG tags and dumped him in a bonfire of bodies months ago. I never even got to say goodbye."

Tears were flowing freely now down his cheeks, unable to hold himself back. He was shaking with a mixture of grief and rage. How could he stop the pain he was feeling when he hadn't properly mourned the loss of the only man that had meant something to him. For a moment he was in his own bubble, lost in a world with no other purpose than to feel pain. He felt two arms fold around him as a soft feminine scent filled his senses. He felt himself lean into her offer of solace and after all those months of fighting back the emotions he broke down.

Aidan held him as he wept openly into her shoulder. It had taken her a while to fully get her head around the grief he had been suppressing all this time. She could never imagine what he had gone through but she fought back her better judgement and offered compassion when she thought he might need it.

After a while he drew away from her, wiping his reddened eyes to gaze blurry eyed at the night sky. In that moment Aidan made a quick decision before he felt it necessary to say anything awkward. She went to her feet and stood over the graves.

"I want to say a few words about Wilks' dad," she said to the mound of earth, "I don't know you and personally I'm glad I don't because I think you're an ass for leaving your son alone in this world. But I think he's a tough guy and he'll do fine without you."

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly.

She glanced back at him and offered a hand, "I'm saying goodbye. I know they aren't essentially related to you but symbolically it'll do the job."

He accepted her offer as she helped him to his feet, staggering back slightly at his weight. He stared awkwardly down at the gravesite then back at her.

"I don't even know what to say,"

"Say whatever you want,"

They stood in silence for what seemed like ages until eventually he cleared his throat.

"Dad," his voice cracked slightly, "There is so much I wanted to say to you but never had the chance to speak it out loud. I always thought that you were the greatest, but I was wrong. You were a coward and you always took the easy way out. You left me when I needed you the most and I'll never forgive you for that. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do now. I'm lost without you dad I really am."

He silently bowed his head and closed his eyes as he let out a breath. The lump in his throat had subsided and that rising fear of losing control had gone. When he opened his eyes he realised that Aidan was no longer standing beside him, he wondered when she had sneaked away from his private emotional moment.

For the first time in a long time he felt like he'd had a breakthrough. He had never broken down to anyone before and he felt an immense amount of relief. The hours he had sat in his therapist's office refusing to speak, wasting precious hours just staring into space. He had no clue he had been building up so much grief and pain. Although it hadn't taken much for him to crack.

Who was this girl who had this ability to open him up and break him down even without saying a word. It unnerved him that he had been comfortable enough to say very revealing words to this stranger. When had she left him to his private contemplation? It worried him that she might view his breakdown as a weakness, that he was unable to do his job. He needed to prove to her if anything it meant that a lot of the darkness was actually starting to clear.

Aidan sat in their chosen room with her arms crossed tightly over her legs, knees to her chest and chin resting lightly on her knees. She thoughtfully glanced up at Wilks as he entered the room and sent him a half-hearted smile. He clenched his teeth and swallowed nervously, he had no clue what to say to her.

"Umm," he started, "Thanks."

She shrugged as she folded her legs under her to stretch out on the floor.

"Don't mention it,"

"Look I don't usually do that, I never break down," he told her as he sat on the floor opposite her.

"Quite clearly," she rested her arms under her head and stared up at the rotting ceiling, "We can't all be emotionless COG built machines."

"I am still capable of doing my job, I can still protect you,"

"Well I hope so," she twisted to look at him and propped her head against her hand, "Otherwise I'll have to explain to the boys why you ditched me which I know you wouldn't do."

"I have _never_ met anyone like you before," he honestly declared to her, "you...you...you mess with my head."

Her gaze dropped from him, "I'm sorry."

"I wish I had known you sooner," his voice was quieter this time, almost ashamed of admitting it to her.

"Everything about me is overrated, trust me," she rolled over onto her back again and closed her eyes, "Besides if you had known me sooner you would have been with your Jackass father hauling my ass off to the nearest farm."

He watched her silently as her breathing grew shallow and sleep started to take over. After a while she murmured sleepily to him.

"You want me to sit watch?"

"No no, it's fine you sleep. I'm here,"

"Well wake me if you need to sleep," the last words were more a slur but he understood the gist.

"Thanks,"


	18. Chapter 17: It's A Trap

**Chapter Seventeen – It's a Trap**

* * *

><p>Lem knew something was wrong. Ironically when things started going wrong, which in hindsight wasn't as astute as he would have liked. But then Lem didn't really expect to be out witted by Stranded. Especially Stranded that had offered them safety.<p>

He sat and starred blurry eyed at the children in the room. Every now and again his vision would clear and he could see everyone looking as blank and transfixed as he was. It wasn't until Frost mumbled something barely coherent that he realised that they were done for.

"Bastards tricked us,"

He felt like a fly that had been stunned by a rather cunning spider. But in this case they'd lured a group of children by the offer of kindness.

Angelo was out cold beside him, lying curled in the foetal position. He was totally unaware of the distress his friends were in. Even David, who had barely come up for air when the food had been set in front of him, was unconscious beside Angelo. Right now Lem would have given anything to have swapped places with them, instead of having his mind stuck in blurry limbo.

"Whaddo wedo?" he slurred, trying to turn to Frost but keeling over to his side. Slowly he straightened himself up, feeling it easier to just keep his eyes closed than constantly fight the sickness that came with the feeling of keeping his eyes open.

"Can you fight it?" Frost's words sounded laboured.

"Not really,"

Frost couldn't understand why he felt so woozy. He hadn't eaten any of the offered meat he'd only drunk their water, unless of course they had drugged that as well.

Lem heard footsteps clunk heavily into the room. Most of the children were now out of it unaware of the potential threat looming over them.

"Well this is unexpected," the smooth voice forced him to open his eyes and gaze hazily up at the figures, Ma had returned, "I didn't expect to have an audience."

"Bastards," Frost spat back at them, "Lying bastards."

"Oh hush my dear one, you need to save your energy for the exchange, Cordella likes her gifts with a bit of fight in them,"

"You drugged us,"

"Only to separate the men from the boys, oh and don't we have two fine specimens,"

Lem wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. But now something inside him was fighting against his instincts. It made him hate these people all the more and he could feel himself dipping in and out of consciousness.

"What do you want with us?" Frost's words stretched out longer than they should.

"We're after a fair trade. Cordella has always treated us right if we offer a good trade, and I think she'll be more than happy with this selection."

"Who the hell is Cordella?"

"Mind your manners, did your mother never teach you your please and thank yous,"

"Coming from a parentless Compound, what do you think?" The fight was coming back in Frost's voice, although he still flopped around like a rag doll. He had shuffled himself up against a wall to hold himself up.

Ma chuckled back at him, "I like your spirit, if you weren't destined for Cordella I'd keep you for breeding stock. You look ripe enough."

Lem's stomach churned, why had he ever thought that woman was delightful?

"Thanks for the offer but I'm not interested," clearly whatever had been dosed in Frost's water had only been enough to numb his body. His mind was fighting tooth and nail for survival.

Ma's Stranded minions had started to tie the unconscious children up using binding wire. Tightly fastening their arms behind their backs and feet together at the ankle. They then dragged each child out of the room as if they were nothing more than meat baggage. Lem cringed each time he could hear a child's skull crack against the floor or door frame, the Stranded laughed in response as they lugged each child away.

"What the hell are you doing, those are living human children you're manhandling, treat them with some respect," Frost snapped at Ma as he struggled against his own bonds.

"They're treated with the respect they deserve. COG bred boys are worth nothing to me, spawned for fighting the lot of you. Might as well put you all down now, it's the girls that are worth something to me, the life force of humanity. And yet not a single girl amongst you, do you know what a letdown that is to me?" Ma was up close to Frost now eying up every length of his body.

"Yeah well a COG run facility had a tendency to take the girls away from us before we could lay our hands on them," Even Lem could see the fire in Frost's eyes. They were both aware of the sole surviving female from the Compound glad she was far away from this danger.

Ma turned aggressively away from Frost and headed towards Lem.

"Shame, I could have done with another blonde haired girl to add to my collection,"

Ma let the words sink in; they had seen Aidan, which meant she wasn't safe wherever she was.

"If you touch a hair on her head, I'll kill you myself," Lem hadn't even realised he was capable of speaking such fighting words.

"I'd like to see you try," Ma chuckled, running a finger along his cheekbone down to the dimple in his chin, "Anyway she will be worshipped with my other girls, providing a future for our kind."

"Your kind makes me sick," He spat as he bucked away from her touch.

"Well it's a good thing Cordella has plans for you,"

Frost let out a bitter laugh, both Lem and Ma turned to see the hatred on his face.

"And there's me thinking that Cordella was one of your whores,"

It was the first time either had seen Ma act out of anger, she rapidly leapt to her feet took a few strides over to Frost and punched him hard across the face. Judging by the blood Lem could only guess that she had taken out something from her pocket to hit him. Frost gazed back at her and laughed, spitting out blood onto the floor.

"Insolent boy," she hissed at him. Her calm demeanour had rapidly slipped and the fake face had come off.

"Sorry, did I hit a raw nerve," Frost sneered back at her.

Lem watched in awe, he had always looked up to Frost for many years purely because he had been the eldest in the Compound and had always looked out for the younger members of his group. But now he could truly see the reasons why he had been picked as their leader.

Ma lashed out again at Frost. This time Lem could see a glimpse of something metal on her fist as she smashed her knuckles into his cheek. He could hear the sound of bone on bone as something broke. The cracking sound of bone made Lem wince and he wished he could do something to help Frost.

Frost instead spat out more blood as if he had been used to doing rounds in a boxing ring and glared back at Ma in distaste.

"I should have known this was a birthing farm the moment we got here, should have smelt it from miles away. Can't understand why you're Stranded though,"

"We all need to survive, why should it only be the COG to profit from it all,"

"Well enjoy it while it lasts because it won't just be the COG destroying you, it'll be the Locust as well,"

"Locust aren't going to get to us, we've got a deal with Cordella, we trade humans for our survival, we've made our choice against the Locust,"

It was at this point that Lem wondered when they should stop reasoning with someone who was quite clearly unhinged.

He closed his eyes as Ma called more men in to drag him and Frost away. They bashed his head against the stone floor as he succumbed to their strength and was dragged feet first through the camp. Frost struggled all the way, kicking and lashing against his bonds. He let out loud yelps of fury all the way until they reached open ground where several steaks poked out facing a large cavern.

"Ah come on Ma, steaks, how cliché can you get here, we're one step away from sacrificing a blond virgin,"

A voice called from one of the steaks, "I wouldn't put it past them, they eat humans."

Both turned to see Eli tied up, blood trickled down his forehead from a gash on his head.

"Eli, what the hell," Concern edged Frost's voice as he realised he wasn't the only one facing his mortality, "Where've you been."

"I saw more than I bargained for, Wash, the girls from Junior Company, they were all brought here,"

"Shit," Frost muttered.

Ma's laughter echoed around them as she watched the three for a moment then stepped up towards the large cave before them.

"Oh mighty Cordella, I call you here to sacrifice these lives before us, to help us live side by side in wonderful existence,"

Silence followed her echoed words into the cave.

"Yep," Lem grunted, "Totally and utterly unhinged."

It was the bestial roar that sounded shortly afterwards that made all three boys swear various words as each stared into the darkness as they felt the thunderous steps towards them. The ground shook with each step. The three watched as the creature emerged, fear alone prevented them from turning away.

But it was the glowing that scared them the most, that deep midnight glow that originated from the very core as it took a step towards them into the open night sky. Its blind eyes searching out for them as it sniffed the scent of human flesh, it took a step closer until they could all see what Cordella was.

A Berserker in all her glory.

But she looked strangely different as if a plague had taken her, she looked twisted and disfigured. And glowed. She let out a scream of delight, as she finally caught scent of her prey at last and charged.


	19. Chapter 18: Things That Go Bump

**Chapter Eighteen – Things That Go Bump**

* * *

><p>Wilks jerked awake at the sound of an ear piercing scream, and kicked himself for falling asleep. For a moment he was uncertain of his surroundings, wondering where he was. As his brain switched itself back on he scanned the area for his companion. He could hear her whimpering in her sleep. Desperately kicking out to the demons that haunted her. Slowly he picked himself up, checking the doorway then making his way to the window and cautiously looked out.<p>

Something was outside.

Quietly he made his way over to Aidan. He could almost see the nightmare the poor girl battled in her dream. The way her body flinched at his touch, edging away and forcing her tighter into a ball. There was no kind way to do this to her, so he did it the only way he knew how. He shook her to wake her, gently calling her name to rouse her.

She awoke quickly letting out a scream of terror in response. He clamped a hand across her mouth and pulled her towards him to silence her. He felt her tiny frame convulse against his grip. So small amongst his hold. He pressed himself close to her and breathed heavily against her neck as he whispered closely into her ear.

"Hush," He felt her quiver in response, "Something is hunting us."

Slowly he released his grip on her mouth. Her body still quaked beside him, not attempting to unfurl herself from him. He sat there for a moment allowing her to gather her senses, her breathing was sharp and rapid. But she stayed close and didn't utter a word as if she understood the severity of the situation.

After a moment he hoisted himself to his feet and edged back towards the window. He could now hear whatever was outside, heavy footsteps and the odd grunt. He had no idea whether it was human or Locust.

He felt around for his Lancer in the dark, eventually picking out its tiny indicator lights from the blackness.

"Aidan," he whispered, placing a hand on her arm, "You stay here, I'll be back."

He placed the Longshot at her feet, entrusting her to watch his back from the safety of the building.

He shifted the wardrobe slightly and squeezed out. Picking his way down the stairs staying within the darkness. Here he could hear footsteps. Staying within the confines of the house he lowered himself to a crouch and readied his Lancer; safety switch off, finger on the trigger. The footsteps were running now, coming ever closer. He listened as they thundered right passed him. Confused he came out of cover. Peering out of the doorway to see five Locust running in the opposite direction to the Stranded Camp. Ever curious he slipped out of the building to investigate.

He completely missed the two humans lurking in the darkness waiting for him to make that first mistake. They crept up the stairs towards their target.

* * *

><p>Aidan had been left scared and bewildered after being woken up by Wilks. Still shaking at his actions, almost feeling violated. It took her a few moments to fix her sensible head on, something was hunting them and she couldn't afford to drop her guard.<p>

Taking hold of the Longshot, relief filled her as she gripped the cold metal slender barrel. She shuffled herself to directly face the doorway. Lining the Longshot up to the gap balanced ready on her knee. Her heart rattled inside her for a moment and she berated herself for still feeling sickly nervous at the thought of firing on a living being.

The sound of something outside the door alerted her. A heavy foot crunching on brick and rock, the click of the safety catch on a weapon. She readied her Longshot, letting out a slow breath, lining up the eyepiece on the sights and tightened her finger on the trigger. Whoever was out there had turned quiet, obviously listening out for any noises. A scuffling noise came from the gap in the door as someone tried to squeeze through, making their way towards her.

She made her move.

She pulled the trigger tight, letting it bite back at her as the bullet leapt from the barrel straight at her target.

It hit her victim on their left ear. The hot metal ripped through the soft tissue, tearing apart the appendage. She heard a man screech out and she leapt up to make her move. The man was on his knees now clutching the side of his head howling in agony. She grabbed hold of the Longshot by the muzzle and swung it like a bat. Ignoring the heat that omitted from the barrel, she smashed it hard into the stranger's face. Knocking him out onto the floor, blood from his wound cast off as she lifted her weapon to strike out again, splattering her with his bodily fluids.

She didn't even notice the second person who leapt from the darkness and smashed her hard against the ground.

She could smell him, a heavy odour of something she couldn't identify. He had pinned her to the floor. The light of the moon glinted in every so often, picking out small details for her. She was dealing with humans who didn't seem to care much about the survival of the species. She felt his heavily odorous breath upon her face and she shuddered, repulsed that she had fallen prey so easily. She kicked out at him, using every part of her body that she knew best to help save herself before it was too late.

Her knee jerked hard up into his groin as she heard an animal howl leave his lungs. He retreated back a moment to protect the one part of his body that mattered. He let out a snarl, she caught sight of a few teeth that remained and she shuffled back away from him. He grabbed hold of her foot and pulled her back to him across the floor.

He was so much stronger.

He held her ankles tight, pressing his knees heavily upon them before letting out a cackle.

"Oh give it up girly. Ma said she wanted you alive, but I won't hesitate to kill you," he stroked a hand up her leg, "Not before taking some youthful deliciousness beforehand. It's been a long time since I've tasted such young blood."

He zipped his trousers down to his knees and loomed over her.

I am not going out this way, her mind screamed to her.

She struggled. One hand searched out for anything to fight back, until her fingers took purchase on something wooden. She gripped it tightly as she drew it closer to her body, she only had one chance.

She swung the wooden baton hard, watching as it shattered against her assailant's face, stunning him enough to release her. She staggered to her feet, picked up her gun and ran for the gap in the door. A hole this small was no problem for her and for once she thanked Wilks for cleverly planning to position the wardrobe the way he had.

She leapt out, keeping tightly onto her Longshot. She could hear her assailant closely behind her, he screamed at her as he tried to squeeze out of the gap with some problems.

She climbed over the bookcase covering the stairs. Landing awkwardly and stumbling over her feet causing her to tumble down the steps till she landed in a lump at the bottom. Every part of her body hurt as she forced herself to her feet but the man was now at the top of the stairs, rapidly approaching her.

She let out a cry as she tripped, picking herself up and running out of the house into the street. Her feet unsteadily found each step she made as she tried running from him. But he was so much quicker than her. She stopped, attempting to maintain the gap from him but he kept approaching her. She kept stepping backwards from him. Carnal lust filled his eyes as he sized her up from the full moonlight.

"Why are you bothering to run blondie, I'm going to catch you,"

"Please," she whimpered, "Leave me alone."

He sucked in air heavily as he caught his breath. A shiver of fear and disgust etched its way down her gut as she took in his heavy build and ugly features. His trousers were still partially unzipped and hung over his hips which sent a surge of repulsion through her.

"You're all on your own now girly."

He made a leap at her and she let out a scream as she turned and fled, cursing her feet if they dared fail her.

* * *

><p>It was the scream that had drawn him away from the hunt. So close and yet so far. He turned and frowned for a moment before realising his promise.<p>

"Aidan," he breathed, breaking out into a run back towards the buildings, cursing himself for his stupidity at leaving her alone.

As he neared he could see Aidan's blonde features as she ran desperately towards him. She was being pursued by a large chunk of a man. The brute managed to grab hold of her wrist and heaved her to him. She struggled against him, using her hands and nails to scrape at his face. He gripped hold of them and twisted them behind her back, she let out a yowl of petrified agony.

"Take one more step Gear and I'll take her right in front of you," he called to Wilks.

"You even try and I'll kill you,"

In a split second Wilks fought with his decisions; shoot the man dead or beat his ass till he never knew what a girl ever looked like again. Currently he was not in a position he could control either way.

"Drop the weapon," the brute yelled and dropped his trousers, "Or this happens."

"Oh that's just nasty," Wilks pulled a face in disgust, "You should see someone about that."

"I'm not joking," he twisted Aidan's wrist tighter, she involuntarily let out a moan in pain.

"Okay okay," Wilks dropped his Lancer on the ground and held his hands in air.

A Lancer wouldn't have been well suited to a quick action situation that he had already been considering so he was happy to relinquish the bulky weapon. The brute eyed the gun then back at Wilks, momentarily forgetting Aidan who had plans of her own. With his attention elsewhere his grip on her had loosened enough for her to move. She flung her head back at him, enough to crack him heavily against his chin.

He let out a yowl as he released her to cradle his chin.

Wilks read the situation quicker than he knew he was capable, in seconds he pulled his Gorgon SMG from its holster and fired at the brute. Hitting him straight on as the bullet smashed through the skull and splattered brain matter out of the exit wound. The body hovered for a moment before the nervous system knew what was happening as it tumbled lifeless to the floor.

Aidan stood breathless staring down at her assailant, dead with his trousers round his ankles. She staggered away from him, wiping the blood from her cheek as she all but fell into Wilks' arms. He could feel her shaking as he placed a protective arm around her to comfort her for a moment. Then held her back to look her over, blood splattered her and he had no idea how much of it was her own.

"Are you okay, did he harm you in any way?"

She breathed heavily, eyes fixed on his and shook her head firmly.

"Should've been born a boy," she half laughed half sobbed nervously.

As he was about to take her in a comforting embrace something caught the corner of his eye just as the sound of gunfire alerted him. He grabbed hold of her and heaved her into cover, pushing her firmly to the floor.

"Does no one sleep around here," he yelled back into the rubble as bullets ricocheted off the wall beside them. He let out a blast from his Lancer towards the general direction of the returning fire, "It would help if I could bloody well see you."

He glanced down at Aidan who sat slumped against the cover, hands over her ears and eyes firmly shut. He dropped down beside her.

"Aidan, I need your assistance,"

Her eyes flicked open, watching him as she lowered her hands.

"I don't know what I'm fighting here, how good are you with that Longshot?"

"The Lieutenant used to let me practice with bottles, and I haven't hurt myself with it yet," she responded quietly.

"Good, good, always a promising start," he gave her a smirk, "Look I'm going to draw the fire power away from you, but I need you to spot whoever is trying to shoot us and draw him out for me. I'll do the rest."

She nodded and watched as he left the cover, firing a few rounds as he went, edging away from her to draw the returning trajectory towards him. She sat for a while momentarily stunned. What was she doing here? Why wasn't she safe back at the Compound? As she realised that she wasn't in some stupid dream and she was actually living this nightmare. She had to fight for her life now. Slowly she unhooked her Longshot and lined up the sights, trying to track down where the bullets originated. She could hear Wilks howling a short distance from her as he let out short bursts from the Lancer. She waited till the gunshots were returned before seeking out their aggressor. She picked out the outline of something in the shadows, it moved slightly into the moonlight and from her Longshot sights she could distinctly see a man. She lowered her gun. Was she really seeing this correctly or were her tired eyes deceiving her. Once again she sighted her target up and saw the human returning fire at Wilks.

"Wilks," she called out to him, "It's a human."

"I'm not seeing bullets Aidan!" he hollered back.

"But it's a human!"

"Kill or be killed," he shouted between shots.

"Is this right?"

"We can argue about this when the guy is trying to rape you and I've run out of bullets,"

She looked over at Wilks, stuck behind cover and blind firing at his target. She had misjudged this Gear the first time she had met him. He wasn't one of the few out to get her. And now he was risking his life to protect her. She just found it hard to grasp that he was actually protecting her from humans, not Locust. She raised the Longshot, focussing in on the man, he was well positioned in enough cover to avoid Wilk's shots. But she had a good view from where she was standing.

Kill. Or be killed.

Images of the Drones letting loose on the poor children back at the Compound flashed back to her, how helpless she felt.

She had to be stronger she couldn't rely on others to protect her all the time. She lined the man up in her sights. This guy wanted to kill them and she had to do everything in her power to prevent it. Before she had even realised what her brain was telling her fingers, she felt herself pull on the trigger as it kicked back at her.

The bullet leapt out of the Longshot swirling impatiently towards its intended target imbedding itself in the man's shoulder. In response he leapt forward.

"I missed it,"

"Got him," with practiced patience Wilks leapt out of cover and fired a few accurate sets of fire, blasting their attacker to the floor in a flurry of bullets.

Wilks sprinted towards the building, not stopping to wait for Aidan. At the doorway, he paused to scope for any traps or an ambush. His Lancer leading the way at the ready. He was also aware that he was down to his last few bullets in the clip. Not wanting to waste time with reloading he kept a steady hand on the trigger he couldn't waste ammunition now.

The building looked like it had once been an office or a shop, decay had long since taken over and the huge bay fronted windows just empty smashed gaps. He quietly tread into the building and through the main room, scanning every inch for sign of a threat. He heard Aidan closing up behind him. She had seemed to have taken the hint, keeping as quiet and as close to him as possible without crowding him. Checking behind them with her Longshot held upside down as if it were a bat. He dreaded to think of the state of the poor gun if she haphazardly clutched her weapon as if she could swing it. But none the less he felt significantly safer knowing that she had his back.

He paused at the base of the stairs, signalling for her to stay put as he took the lead. She nodded with the efficiency and professionalism of a Gear with years of experience on the battlefield. He found it hard to get his head round her only being a sixteen year old civilian. A civilian trained by a COG funded training Compound. He had worked with Gears his age with less professionalism. Junior Company must have done something right.

Slowly he stepped up the stairs cautiously hesitating at the top, from experience he knew lone snipers liked to keep something planted to alert them of someone approaching behind them. He had been caught out by this once before. Although he doubted that if the guy was acting outside the COG he would readily have access to frag or smoke grenades, unless he had made them himself.

He glanced back at Aidan, who was still positioned hesitantly at the base of the stairs looking out for any movement behind them. Relieved that if he did set off any trapped grenades she wouldn't be affected too much, he made his move.

He leapt over the top step and dropped into a roll to cross to the far wall. Backing against it to check the room. Silence echoed back to him, silence and the muffled moan of a man down. He cautiously followed the sound till he picked up on a blood trail. Following the streaks till he discovered the man slumped against a wall trying to keep pressure on his wound at the same time as trying to keep his weapon aimed. He gave Wilks a startled look as he approached and tried to lift a quivering gun.

"Don't come any closer, I mean it," he weakly called to him, "You filthy COG are all the same murderous assholes."

"I could say the same thing about Stranded," Wilks replied cautiously, "I'm not with any COG, but then you already know that, seeing as you've been tracking us."

The Stranded coughed, blood splattered out of his lips. He smeared it across his chin, wiping most of it away with the back of his hand.

"I'm just doing my job,"

"Didn't think Stranded had jobs,"

"We have to live somehow,"

Wilks kept his Lancer fixed on the Stranded in case he made one final attempt at firing, but they both knew his actions were futile.

"I need to know who sent you, Stranded don't walk the wilderness alone taking pot shots at Soldiers when there is Locust around. Someone sent you,"

The Stranded tried to laugh, spluttering up more blood, "You make it sound like a damn conspiracy. That's right all you COG think the world is after you. It's not always about you."

He watched the Stranded carefully as realisation dawned, "the girl."

"Ma has plans, these boys are just useless bloodstock and she has lost so many willing female specimens to Cordella. Do you know how hard it is to intercept that Compound and take those girls? She's the one Ma's been wanting for years and she all but walks into her arms ripe and ready."

"Well you've lost, you can't have her,"

"You sure of that?" the Stranded choked down a bloodied laugh, causing Wilks to quickly step backwards and call out to her.

"Aidan!"

Soft steps made their way up the stairs and Aidan appeared, a look of concern on her face as she approached him. She paused catching Wilks' look of panic.

"What's wrong?"

"A lying bastard that's what."

As he turned striding with determination back to the Stranded he heard a click and he caught sight of a grenade in the man's hands and the pin the other. He was laughing, bringing up blood till the very last moment. Wilks didn't even have a chance to call Aidan to safety as the blast thrust himself across the room at a force he had never felt before.

The last thing he heard before everything went black was Aidan screaming.


	20. Chapter 19: Bang Bang You're Dead

**Chapter Nineteen – Bang Bang You're Dead**

Her ears were ringing.

A jangling high pitched resonance deafened her as she picked herself up at the bottom of the stairs. Her body felt like it had been through the mangler as it throbbed to the touch. It took a moment for her to regain her senses, her vision blurred by the thick brick dust blown into the air from the explosion. She took a moment to collect herself. Her head spun and she stumbled as she picked her way back up the stairs. The floorboards cracked under her weight, weakened by the explosion. She kept on her tip-toes till she reached the top step. She had no idea what to expect beyond the banisters. Blood splattered patterns on the walls in front of her and the pit of her stomach lurched in fear. She hesitated before planting one foot in front of the other. She let out a gasp; Wilks lay in a heap on the floor against the furthest wall. Momentarily forgetting where she was she ran over to him, dropping to her knees trying to assess the extent of his injuries. She took note of a wound at the back of his skull and the impact mark on the wall where his head had hit it. Blood splattered across his face, gluing up over his eye.

Where the hell was she going to start?

She had taken first aid back at the Compound but now when it came down to it she could barely remember the important things such as CPR. She couldn't even remember whether she should even be giving it to the unconscious man beside her. Maybe she should check whether he was breathing first.

"Wilks?" she cried, "Wilks can you hear me?"

She looked his body up and down and then lowered her ear over his mouth, picking out his slow laboured breaths as they brushed across her cheek. She sat back, working out how to help him. The wound to the back of his head was covered in brick dust. She checked her person for anything she could use to help clean the blood and dust, opting to rip one of her sleeves apart. She tore at the fabric on her jumper, revealing a bloodied gash down her own arm. She had wondered what the stinging sensation had been. For a moment she shrugged it off; she had to help Wilks before she started thinking about herself. With the fabric in one piece she checked Wilks' canteen for water. Dampening the fabric in her hands and gently wiping at the edges of the wound working outwards. Once she had cleaned most of the mess up she set forth to clean up the blood splatters from his face and any other exposed part of his body. Most of it had belonged to the Stranded, who was now decorating the floors and walls in a joyful hue of pink mist.

With one hand cradling Wilks' head she pulled off her shawl, rolled it into a headrest and gently she set him down on her crudely made pillow. She sat back on her haunches beside him, completely bewildered as to what she should do next. It had never been in her nature to care for other people. Even her own family unit had learnt never to expect any sympathy or care from her if they were ever sick. It worried her that this Gear had brought out a completely different person in her.

Wilks stirred, letting out a groan as he tried to clutch at his head. Alerted, Aidan sat up.

"Wilks, can you hear me, Ollyvar are you all right?" She remembered somewhere in her subconscious to make sure she kept talking to the casualty, so she did just that.

* * *

><p>A voice called out to him.<p>

A concerned female voice kept uttering his name as he dipped in and out of consciousness. His head thudded. Wrenching him from his pained catatonic slumber, he jolted awake with a yelp, clawing at his eyes in panic, still glued shut from bloody remnants. A reassuring hand took hold of him, cooing gentle words as she prised his hands away from his face.

"It's all right; it just needs to be cleaned,"

The next thing he knew he felt a wet cloth press up against his eyes, gently easing away the dried blood and dust. He waited like a scared child till she withdrew the cloth from his face. Very slowly he tried to blink. A blurry outline sat close to him, he blinked again trying to clear his tear ducts. His eyes were burning. But that voice kept him fighting forward. He coughed and his ribs screamed back at him. He lifted a hand to wipe at his face, slowly gathering his senses together. The metallic taste of blood in the back of his throat and the distant ringing in his ears reminded him that something bad had happened, but he couldn't remember what. And still that voice.

"Olly do you hear me? Wilks are you all right?"

The blurred vision in his eyes started to clear and the blurry outline seemed more defined. He could pick out the straggled blonde hair of a girl covered in dirt and bloody scratches. He blinked again, she knelt over him a look of concern on her face. One hand held a wound on her left upper arm. Blood trickled between her fingers, but she seemed to pay little attention to it, instead she watched him carefully. He heard her let out an audible sigh of relief as his eyes fixed firmly upon her, his memory seeking out who she was.

"Wilks can you hear me?"

He nodded slowly, as his head jangled in response.

"Oh my head," his lips were dry.

"Your armour shielded you from most of the blast, but you hit your head. Do you know who you are? Do you know where you are? Do you know who I am?"

After a pause he searched her face for any clue of the extent of his injuries and seeing nothing in response.

"Corporal Wilks, Ollyvar J." He grumbled, "I'm in hell and I want to call you a boy's name – Bob possibly."

She let out a relieved laugh, "Yeah that's right, I'm Bob."

"How bad is it?" he asked her quietly, "I want it straight, am I talking from the dead."

"You have a wound on the back of your head, where you hit the wall," she indicated to the bloody patch on the wall above them, "I've cleaned it up, but it needs to be dressed to keep it clean."

"Anything else?"

"As I said, your armour took most of the blast, you've probably got some internal injuries but that's beyond what I was taught in First Aid.

He tried to sit up, his ribs letting out a dull thud. She reached out to help him, such a small thing trying to take his weight, he tried to bat her away but found himself relying on her assistance. He sat for a moment observing the mess of the room.

"What happened to the Stranded, did he..."

"If you're seriously asking me whether the man who held onto the grenade when it went off, survived? I think you're more concussed than I thought,"

He shook his head, everything was all fuzz. He was having a hard time trying to recall the last few moments before the grenade went off. He fixed his vision instead on Aidan, the blood that dribbled down her arm and the way she was trying her best to ignore it wasn't happening.

"You're hurt,"

"I'm fine," she responded, "I was close enough to the stairs to jump out of the way."

"No you're bleeding Aidan, let me look at your arm," he insisted.

"Please its fine, I've had worse injuries handling the Lancer," before she could move away he took hold of her wrist and pulled her towards him, "Ouch, let go will you."

"Only if you let me look at it,"

She let out a frustrated sigh and shuffled over to him, "Fine, but it's just a cut."

He examined her arm for a moment. Wetting the same piece of fabric she had used to mop his eyes and ran it over the gash. She flinched from him but he kept his grip on her wrist until he had cleaned the blood away. He then dug in his pouch for his first aid kit, taking out a medical patch and placing it over the wound, delicately pulling off a few strips of sticking tape to fix it firmly to her arm. She had been watching him closely, a look of stubbornness on her face, as he released her wrist she looked back at him.

"I suppose I'd mention now that I'm pretty accident prone and if you keep doing this each time I cut myself you're going to run out of bandages,"

"Yeah well I'd rather you start off in one piece and we can work backwards from there," he commented softly, as he started packing his first aid kit away.

"Wait, I need to bandage your wound, don't want you walking around with half your brain hanging out,"

He shot her a worried look to which she smirked back and raised her hands in surrender, "Joking."

"Yeah well your humour falls flat on me," he grumbled as she taped a patch to the back of his head.

"Don't know how long this'll last here, but at least it'll protect it until the blood clots and it starts to heal."

"Actually I have just the thing for a situation like this," Wilks dug in another of his pouches to retrieve an old blue baseball cap with a Hanover Cougars logo leaping over it, he placed it firmly over his head to protect the bandage and his injury.

Aidan let out a chuckle as she observed his new style, "Wow whoever told you you suited a baseball cap really needs to be shot,"

"Why, what's wrong with it?" He asked self-consciously running a hand over his head.

"To put it bluntly, you look like a thug,"

"Oh thanks for that, and you look lovely too, you totally suit grunge,"

"Touché," She offered a hand out to help him to his feet, staggering backwards with his weight until he grabbed hold of her to steady them both. She reached down to pick up her shawl, wrapping it over her shoulders and using her father's pin to fix it in place.

He took a moment to steady himself on his feet. Stopping to look back at Aidan as she collected their weapons, brushing off bits of Stranded from them.

Something niggled in his subconscious, like a warning bell telling him the rest of their group was in danger and they had to get back to them. Part of him wondered how easy it would be to leave the others at the Stranded Camp and to continue on to Jacinto with just Aidan. He knew he could get them both there safely. He was certain of that. He'd probably do everything in his power to keep Aidan safe. Just like how Tate had kept the cast out Stranded Sofie safe for all those years. Considering the influence he had within his barracks, he could even choose to recruit her to his squad, away from the threat of birthing farms. But then one look at the girl waiting patiently for him, weapons lined up beside her, reminded him of her identical twin. How would he ever look her in the eye if he turned his back on her family?

"We've got to get back to the others," he said softly.

"What? Why?" Aidan sent him a panicked look. He understood; these Stranded had tried to kill them, why go to their camp when they were greatly outnumbered.

"Because I think they're in danger, something that Stranded said just unnerved me,"

Slowly they headed out of the building in the direction of the Stranded Camp. It wasn't until the sound of a loud beastly screech echoed from the camp direction that they realised danger was a lot closer than they thought.

Aidan paused for a moment, trembling as she held her Longshot with careless abandon. She then glanced over at Wilks, who had slipped out the magazine from the Lancer and was checking his ammunition, gently reloading new rounds into the mag.

"You can back out now if you want," he casually commented without looking at her.

"I have to do this, my family is in there, and I know they'd do the same for me,"

* * *

><p>The Sun was starting to rise by the time they reached the Stranded Gates. Wilks paused for a moment, glancing over at his companion.<p>

"We have a choice here Aide, we don't know what trouble lurks behind that gate. It's your call,"

"If it is a farm like you think, we have no choice, our family needs us,"

She rapped hard on the gate before Wilks could even respond.

Like before the flap on the front opened up. Except this time the face behind fixed on Aidan and lit up. Wilks, who had slammed himself against the gate, was hidden from view.

"I'm here for my brother," she announced with unfaltering determination.

"You must be mistaken, no boys here, but come in I'm sure you wouldn't say no to an offer of food and something to drink,"

Silently Wilks had unhooked his Gnasher Shotgun and gently slid in the rounds.

The gates clanked open and just as the Stranded at the door lustfully eyed Aidan up and down Wilks swung round the gate and fired straight into his face. The body blasted backwards in a bloody explosion as it thudded heavily to the ground. The second guard on the gate had very little time to react fumbling for his own weapon as Wilks fired a spray of shrapnel from the Shotgun. He jumped back behind the gate to reload, quickly exchanging his Gnasher for his Lancer.

"I need you behind me Aide," he said, realising she was unsure of her next action, "Stay close, but don't do anything stupid."

He headed through the gate towards a pile of sandbags, stacked waist height where the guards had positioned themselves to watch the gate. Aidan leapt in close behind him, prising a pistol from the dead Stranded's hand. Wilks kept tucked beneath the sandbags as a group of Stranded alerted by the gunfire headed towards them with Hammerbursts, each of them letting out blasts of bullets at them both.

Aidan took a moment to look over the scene; rows of huts lined either side of them. All had a quaint little terrace over the porch, as if to add a hint of homeliness to it. She had a strange feeling that people inside the huts were watching them.

"I count five men, what about you?" Wilks asked her, she nodded in return, unsure as to what she should say to a professionally trained soldier, then realising that he hadn't seen her she spoke up.

"Five out here, but I think there's more in the buildings,"

Wilks swore under his breath and shook his head, "It had to be humans didn't it."

Instead of firing back straight away Wilks waited till the gunfire had ceased and the thudding sounds of bullets hitting the sandbags rang out. He then called out to Stranded.

"Look I don't want to shoot you, we're already in a battle for survival against the Locust, why are we trying to kill each other,"

A woman's voice called back, "If I remember rightly, you were the one that came in guns blazing." She sounded perfectly at ease.

"That's because my finger slipped on the trigger,"

"You killed two men...,"

"...Twice," he quickly added, "Plus I wouldn't have been so trigger happy if you hadn't have sent your men to kill us."

"Actually it was only you we were out to kill," the woman responded, "We'll stop shooting for the girl."

Wilks exchanged glances with Aidan.

"No deal."

"Where are my family?" Aidan interrupted whatever sort of negotiations Wilks thought he was entering.

"I don't know what you mean?" the woman called back, "We've had no visitors."

"I saw my brother enter your gates several hours ago,"

The woman smiled at Aidan, "well if you were so attached to them why didn't you come too?"

Aidan faltered a moment, before catching Wilks' shrug, "Because I knew you were dangerous."

"Nonsense, women must stick together in this terrible world."

"I'll stick to my family, now where are they?"

"Well they were sacrificed to Cordella in exchange for our survival of course,"

"You did what!" Wilks pressed a heavy hand against Aidan, for fear that she would lurch up in horror. In return he lined up one of the Stranded guards with his Lancer, "Take us to them, now."

"Or what, if I remember rightly we still have the upper hand,"

"I thought you would say that," he grumbled to himself. Letting out a burst of gunfire at one of the guards, hitting him directly in the head, sending him crashing to the ground in a spurt of blood and brains.

"Or I'll take out your men one at a time until you do,"

The Stranded started firing back at them, Aidan gave Wilks an exasperated glance.

"You're not helping!"

"Granted not the best idea I've had today," he admitted, "I have a short patience span, what do you suggest."

"Just cover me," she stood up from the cover.

"Wait, what're you doing?"

A bullet missed her by inches, causing the woman to scream out, "Ceasefire!"

Aidan stepped away from Wilks and approached the Stranded. She could see the woman closely now, she was an older lady, signs of fatigue and stress lined the crows-feet beside her eyes. The woman was also sizing Aidan up, taking in her age and body structure. Aidan turned to take in the Stranded men holding guns aimed either at her or at Wilks, she made her way over towards the woman and stood a short arms reach distance from her.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time," the woman spoke quietly, "You'd fit in just perfectly here."

"I don't belong here,"

"I could be the mother you always wanted,"

"That's not what's on offer here and we both know that,"

"But it could be,"

"Do you lure all your unwilling victims this way?"

"They're not victims; they live here out of choice,"

"For fear of what may lurk beyond that gate, yeah I get it now. You can come and go as you please but if you do you'll be subjected to the horrors of the outside world,"

The woman smiled with a look of calm calculating adoration, "Maybe if you stay here you'll find out more about yourself."

"I'll find out on my terms, I don't fear the outside world and I don't fear you. I fear for the safety of my family, you can't keep me here and you can't keep hunting me down,"

"I'm not hunting you child,"

"You could have fooled me," she indicated to Wilks still behind cover but watching her every move behind the sights of his weapon.

"Yeah well, he's an exception," the woman responded slowly, "COG don't rank on our do not shoot list."

"He's my family now, COG or not and I will do everything to make sure my family is safe,"

"We had to make a trade. They promised me we would be rewarded with eternal life,"

"Who? Where?"

"On the sacred grounds behind the church," she glanced in the direction of the ruined building beside a small hillock. Then as realisation struck she looked back at Aidan, "I'm not a monster, I had to make a decision to protect my people, I'm sure you would have done the same."

Aidan frowned at the woman, "We are two different people and my family are not to be traded with."

She brought out the pistol she had hidden in her shawl and aimed it at the woman.

"Don't you realise we're better off with them than against them," a mania filled the woman's eyes as she caught sight of the gun, "the glowing ones – we need to unite with them against the Locust to overthrow them."

"You're a monster, humans need to keep together, not side with the Locust," she gasped as her finger slipped on the trigger and a loud bang went off. For a moment Aidan thought she had missed her target, until she caught the look of shook on the woman's face as she clutched at her chest, blood starting to seep between her fingers before she tumbled to the ground.

Wilks reacted quicker than anyone. Leaping out of cover sprinting towards Aidan before any Stranded realised what had happened. He fired his Lancer at them as he raced to protect her, downing a couple with his reckless bullets. He grabbed Aidan by the arm and heaved her towards cover, pushing her forcefully to the ground as the Stranded started shouting in uproar and firing their weapons.

"Now what, genius?"

Aidan struggled from him. Trying to peer out from the cover to look at the woman, who lay on her back clutching her chest as blood pooled around her. she gasped desperately for air.

"Wilks, what have I done?!"

Wilks leant against their cover, looking back at the crumbled church and the hillside behind it where a cave lurched ominously over it.

But the rumbling feeling below them alerted him to something a lot more urgent than angry Stranded. He turned back to see the shanty houses rattle violently on their hinges. They suddenly started sinking into the ground, structure after structure toppled into the giant developing hole in the ground.

"We need to run, now!" he yelled, leaping to his feet at a crouch, "Head for the hillside."

"What?" Aidan looked at him bewildered.

"It's happening again,"

"You mean..."

"Exactly, giant ass hole in the ground,"

Once again for the second time Aidan and Wilks ran as the ground started breaking up underneath them. As they ran past the dying Stranded woman she grabbed Aidan's ankle sending her careening to the ground.

"Glowing ones destroy Locust," The woman mouthed out words to her.

Aidan struggled from the woman's grip, a sense of terror filling her as she could see the falling ground gain its distance. It wasn't until Wilks grabbed hold of her that she was able to feel her feet again. She stumbled a few times, if it wasn't for Wilks keeping a tight hold on her wrist, she would have succumbed to the falling ground. Behind them the Stranded were panicking. Unaware of what was happening to them, bewildered at the loss of their leader. Wilks didn't stop to warn them, his one concern was to get him and Aidan away safely. If he stopped to help anyone they would probably shoot him anyway.

As they cleared the lower ground and started up the hillside Wilks felt the ground grow firmer, the entire Stranded Camp crumbled behind them. He stopped to watch momentarily as the small menacing camp was swallowed whole into the clutches of the Locust. He could hear the screams coming from the girls, babies and grown men as the underground monsters ripped into their existence.

He released his hold on Aidan as she collapsed to the floor. Clasping her hands over her ears and shaking uncontrollably. Wilks could see tears streaking down her cheeks as she closed her eyes to block out the sight below them.

"I can't do this anymore," she gasped.

He knelt down in front of her, blocking out her view of the lost Stranded camp and gently prised her shaking hands off her ears and taking them in his.

"Just look right at me Aide, concentrate and listen only to me," He stared right at her, trying to block out the sounds of gunfire down in the pit below them, "We're safe now. I won't let any harm come to you."

Her teeth chattered and her limbs rattled as she shook in his grip, she whimpered, "I just want to go home."

She closed her eyes, let out a stuttered breath and leaned into him for support. He paused for a moment before allowing himself hold her closely to him, unused to reacting this way with another human.

"Just rest for a bit, it'll be fine," he breathed, unsure as to whether he believed it himself.


	21. Chapter 20: The Cave

**Chapter Twenty – The Cave**

* * *

><p>It was mid morning by the time Wilks stirred, and still every part of his body ached. He was filled with a deep sense of fatigue that he hadn't felt in years. He ran a hand through his ruffled hair, flinching as he touched his head wound. Reaching out to find his father's baseball cap and fixed it in place. He sat staring back at the barren countryside before him and at the deep crater that had once been a Stranded Camp. The rancid stench of death and decay pricked his senses. At least the screaming had stopped now.<p>

His eyes adjusted to the hazy sun as light clouds drifted by an unsettled sky. He sat for a moment to take in the slight inky traces of the Nemacysts hovering ominously in the distance. He watched as one exploded from gunfire, indicating human activity nearby. He had to admit that he missed being with his squad. At least if he had been with them when all the Stranded crap had gone down he would have known what to do. Aidan's nature made it impossible for him to second guess what she would do in any situation, which was a breath of fresh air for any strictly COG trained grunt. Maybe thrown in to protect this girl would be the spark he'd need to ignite his faith in the COG again. But then again he doubted he would get any help from them.

He took a moment to take note of the girl curled up closely beside him. A mixture of fear and fatigue scarred the poor thing's visage. Her eyelids were scrunched together and she held her arms protectively up against her face. Everyone had their own method of coping with the horrors and he feared she was still to witness further nightmares in her young life. He wondered what kind of woman she would grow into and how she would cope with everything thrown at her. One thing he knew for certain, he had never been able to open up this much in his life as he had with her. There was something about her that fascinated him and even if it was only as a protective brother role, he now felt duty-bound to her.

He scrambled to his feet to take in the landscape around them and wrinkled his nose at the smell of death. The pit below was still belching out smoke. He had no desire to see the destruction of another group of people. In all his twenty years the only time he had seen a hole in the ground was when it was related to the Locust. Surely it wasn't a coincidence that twice in nearly as many days two huge craters sink to the Locust, leaving the stragglers and innocents to be picked off. Not that he would class any of Stranded as innocent, but too many lives had been lost for a reason he was unsure about. And now as they rested on the hillside leading to a rather ominous cave he knew their only answer would lead them inside it.

He headed up the hillock towards the cave entrance and paused as he approached the top. He had located where the stench of blood and death had originated. He took a breath and stepped forward, picking out splatters of skin and body parts tattooed across the dry acrid land. He saw a row of stakes at the peak of the hill and instinctively headed towards it. The blood splatters here were more prolific and the smell was so putrid he had to start breathing through his mouth to stop the urge to throw up. He caught sight of a partial body stump - the bottom half - propped up against one of the stakes and his stomach lurched. He let out a heavy breath as he closed in on the stump. He prayed to the Allfathers that this body wasn't Aidan's brother; he would have no idea how to even tell her the news. The blood was fresh, just starting to go sticky, which indicated that this half of the body had once belonged to the Junior Company Survivors. He felt repulsed that human beings would offer up other humans for their survival and children none the less. He examined each stake, blood splattered each of them, but he couldn't quite make out how new the blood was. He started to follow a streak of blood that led towards the cave. Did this mean that there was possibly a survivor, or had whatever had attacked them just dragged their bleeding lifeless bodies into the cave with it? He hesitated at its mouth, there was no way he was entering that cave without a weapon handy. He stepped back towards the sacrificial ground, glancing at it as a whole he could see more bits of freshly ravaged body parts scattering the ground. This had been a slaughter not a trade.

He headed slowly back to Aidan. She had now woken up, sitting on the dulled grassy verge with her knees pulled to her chest and chin resting on her knees as per usual. At his approach she lifted her head and turned to him, a look of relief on her face.

"I thought you ditched me," she breathed.

"Nah, you entertain me too much," He reached down to pick up his Lancer, sliding out the clip and checking his ammunition and slotting it back in again. He then attached the Lancer to its sling and swung it over his back.

Aidan watched as he repeated the motions with his Gnasher. He checked his weapons like clockwork, running his hands along the barrel of his beloved gun. Once his weapons were firmly attached he offered a hand out to her.

"Come on then, there's something I need to show you, but I don't think it's going to be good news."

"What do you mean?" she asked accepting his hand to heave herself to her feet.

"Its best that I show you," He reluctantly led her up the slope to the peak where the stakes poked up in front of them, two were smashed over, splintered by sheer force.

As he predicted she stopped in her steps at the bits of body strewn in front of them.

"Oh shit," she breathed, it was the first time he had ever heard her swear in front of him and it made him want to smile.

Aidan approached the stump of a body against the stake and dropped to her knees, she placed a hand on the legs and closed her eyes as if in prayer.

"Is he?..." Wilks could hardly bare to ask her.

"No." she responded slowly, "He's not one of my brothers, but he's one of the survivors from the Compound, or should I say he was."

After moment she rose to her feet and dusted down her knees then checked the other bits of body around her. Wilks had never seen anyone so obsessed with death. She picked at bits of fabric in order to identify the different bodies.

"These are all children from the Compound," she said eventually, "What have they done?"

"Are any of your family here?" He asked unsure as to whether he wanted to know the answer.

Aidan had picked up on the blood trail heading into the cave, slowly she edged towards the darkness, pausing in her footsteps at the mouth. She turned momentarily to Wilks who was standing a short distance behind her watching her closely.

"If they aren't out here they must be in there," she announced uncertainly.

"You're kidding me right? You want to go _inside_ the scary cave and follow the blood trail,"

"This is my only option Wilks, they aren't out here, they survived. I just know it,"

"You realise that we're following a blood trail, either way you want to view it, loss of blood is bad,"

"All I know is that my brothers are down there, blood or not, I don't have much of a choice here,"

"Don't be stupid you always have a choice,"

"Look Wilks, I appreciate what you are trying to say and you're trying to release any pressure off me so I won't put myself into any unnecessary danger. But I have to do it. I know they'd do it if I was in their place. I'm not asking you to join me, you've helped me so much so far and I can't ask this of you too."

"And you think I'm going to let you walk into a dark, blood trailed cave alone, there is no way I'm going to miss all the fun,"

She sent him an endearing look, "that means a lot."

"Not bad for an idiot," he allowed himself to smile at her in return.

"Yeah well, the jury is still out on that one,"

Aidan took out her newly acquired pistol, examining it as if it was a foreign object. Blood had splashed back on the barrel from the Stranded Leader, she tried to block the thought out of her head of shooting a human. Mankind was in decline and here she was helping to wipe them out.

Wilks placed a hand on her shoulder as if he was aware of her thoughts. He gave her a look before rummaging in his pouch to produce a small flashlight. With a flourish he clicked the light on and shone the slender beam down into the depths of the cave. From first view it looked like it snaked down deeper into the ground.

"Man's best friend, never leave home without it,"

"Finally, you've enlightened me on your species," she sighed as she squinted down the darkness.

The blood trail led down further into the cave. Aidan let out a heavy breath taking a step forward to follow it. The light picked out dark features, stalagmites reaching up to the ceiling as drips of water pooled on the floor, a distinct dank smell wafted up the passageway. Wilks unhooked his Lancer and passed the flashlight to Aidan, taking the lead into the unknown.

"Well here goes," he announced, "Just keep close to me and if anything non-human comes running at you at full pelt, shoot it,"

They felt their way down into the cave, Wilks felt the gradient steepen the further they ventured. He knew at this rate they would end up right at the Locust doors if they kept heading downwards. The blood trail kept Aidan pushing onwards, a fixed look of steely determination on her face. Trying to push back the inevitable doubt and fear that her family would be found dead in a heap tossed aside like an unwanted meaty dinner. She wasn't going to allow herself to think further than getting safe to Jacinto with her brothers; everything had to be all right.

The flashlight picked up on a splattered glob of something brown and bloody along their route.

"Angelo," Aidan muttered.

"How do you know?" Wilks asked scanning the area with his weapon raised.

"Angelo has Rustlung," she explained quietly, "When you see a kid cough up parts of blood and lung on a regular basis you get to know the difference between that and body parts."

"And I thought I had a rough life as a kid,"

"Angelo wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Lem," she said, partly for his benefit partly just to stop the silence, "But then I don't know how much longer a kid has with advanced Rustlung."

"Rustlung?" Wilks paused a moment to look at Aidan's shadowy outline, "Isn't that caused by exposure to Imulsion, mainly brought on by the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb."

"Mostly yeah," Aidan swung the beam of light from rocky crevice to dripping stalactites, still the blood trail continued, "But then Angelo used to live with his folks in the Imulsion mine field. His odds were against him from the offset."

"I'm surprised he wasn't isolated from the rest of your Compound,"

"Don't get me wrong he was quarantined, but Lem created such a fuss, he even refused to eat until Angelo was released. And besides none of us have contracted Rustlung so I assume we're safe,"

Wilks grumbled to himself as he stepped in a puddle of something. He lifted his boot and stared at the sole, he swore his boot was glowing. He shook his head and continued down the darkened passageway.

It seemed like for hours they followed their way down into the dark depths of the cave, following as it descended deeper and deeper into Sera's core. Their eyes had started to grow accustomed to the darkness, blindly following the swish of the flashlight and the dimly lit indicators on Wilks' armour.

Almost dreamlike a hazy ethereal light appeared in the distance. As they approached it, their eyes squinting at this new other worldly blinding light burning at their pupils.

Aidan stood aghast at a sight that she would for the rest of her life remember, she had never seen pure Imulsion in its unrefined liquid form, but here it flowed and sloshed up against the rocky formation as if it was a living lake. The fumes made her heady with giddiness as she steadied herself on the rock. The cavern opened up as they entered this vast structure, a pathway wound downwards further into the depths below with an ornate bridge stretching over the liquid as if it had been constructed centuries earlier.

"What the hell is this place," Wilks exclaimed, as he gazed in awe at the pathway that ended at a vast sweeping stone carved gateway deeper inside the cavern.

"I've heard the stories that Lem used to sprout off, about creatures living underground for so many years, long before humans. I never believed him," Aidan uttered in disbelief, "Until now."

The blood trail ended halfway down the pathway towards the giant gates, along with the top half of a stumpy body, its other half had been the one outside, now however Wilks could barely identify which child it had been. But judging by the look of relief on his companion he knew it wasn't one of her family.

"Well at least we know now the blood trail doesn't belong to one of yours,"

Aidan was barely listening. Instead she had stepped ever so slowly towards the giant gates, a look of fear across her face.

"They're in there aren't they," she murmured to herself, "Every step closer leads us further to the belly of the beast and so much further from Jacinto."

"It's never too late to turn around,"

She whirled round to him a sudden look on her face that he'd never seen before. A look that indicated that this revelation was more than she could ever fathom.

"You're telling me that you would rather turn around, ignore everything here and keep on walking. Even I can see that this is a discovery that few humans have ever glimpsed. What if the answers are down here? How can you just pretend this doesn't exist?"

"Just when I thought I had you pegged," he sighed as he looked back at the girl he just couldn't understand, "You still keep me guessing."

"Just look at this Wilks, I'm certain humans didn't create this. Which begs the question, what did?"

"Whatever lives down here very likely lives next door to the Locust, and considering they ain't too keen on us neighbours upstairs you can only imagine how happy they'll be with all this unwanted company,"

She shook her head in bemusement as she approached the bridge that swept grandly over the river of Imulsion, "Is that a hint of fear I hear in your voice?"

"Do you blame me?"

"Never thought trained Grunts were able to feel fear,"

"Just because I'm a trained Grunt doesn't mean I haven't got common sense," he tightened the grip on his Lancer, "Grunts can feel pain too."

She took the lead over the bridge, clutching hold of the pistol in her right hand. Her heart thundered inside her ribcage each step she took closer.

"So..." she started, "What's the plan? Because I'm almost certain if we knock on the door we're not going to be greeted with Tea and Cake."

"There might be a side entrance, but we might lose the others by skipping the front gate,"

"So what, we knock and wait for whatever might answer the door?"

"It's not as if we're arriving with flowers, we'll have to face them as best as we can,"

As if their own fears had been listening to them a ghostly screeching sound echoed nearby and the giant gates very slowly creaked open letting out a group of Wretches to skitter towards them. Instantly Wilks took his place in front of Aidan to protect her as he fired at the creatures. Aidan safe behind Wilk's back peered around him to aim and fire her own weapon.

"There's something wrong with those Wretches," she called to him.

"Apart from the fact that anything Locusty isn't quite right," he yelled back.

"They're glowing Wilks, look at them,"

Wilks fired at a Wretch as it lunged at him, blowing it backwards before it exploded in front of them.

"Woah did you just see that,"

Aidan slowly aimed her Longshot at a Wretch that had seemed to have gotten itself stuck against a wall, it had paused to take a breather before deciding to turn around and try again. In that time she had lined it up in her sights and pulled hard on the trigger. Its head blew apart in a triumphant squish of bloody brain matter, she let out a hoot of astonished joy and even before the creature's body had slumped to the ground the rest of its remains splattered apart in a pop.

"Exploding Wretches, who'da thought," she marvelled, feeling a wonderful sense of accomplishment at her first live headshot, the adrenalin surging through her body like ecstasy that left her needing and wanting more. She swapped her Longshot for the pistol and fired shot after shot at the next approaching Wretch before taking it down as it slumped mid stride to the ground and then blowing up.

Wilks who had been on his knees beside her when she had fired shook his head then sent her a look, "You do realise that by firing your damn Boltok by my ear you are in fact attempting to deafen me."

She stopped and realised how close she had stood right next to him and how close her pistol had been to his ear.

"Sorry Wilks, I didn't realise,"

"Yeah well, watch it next time, my hearing is my greatest attribute," he said with a smirk.

"Don't they usually say personality should be the best thing about a person?" She asked as she shifted behind a rock to fire at the Wretches.

"I can't kill Locust with my personality now can I?"

"And you certainly can't kill them with your hearing,"

"True, but then without my hearing how can I avoid them?"

"Touché Corporal," she responded, "You win this round."

Wilks revved up the chainsaw and slashed down into the bulbous head of a Wretch, slicing down its cranium and ripping apart its spine to its lungs, the creature gurgled and squealed until it could no longer do so. He then booted the Wretch off the chainsaw, kicking it as far away as his foot could push before it splattered out in a boom of body and bits.

Aidan watched in repulsion, "Oh that's just nasty."

"What's a little sadistic massacre between friends,"

"I'm certain the Wretch didn't appreciate it,"

"Yeah well me and the Wretches have a mutual hatred," he said between clenched teeth as he picked off the final Wretch.

"Even the ones that glow and explode?"

"Especially that brand," he let out a breath as he took in a moment to reload his Lancer, clicking the magazine in place then picking off bits of Wretch brain matter from the teeth of the chainsaw, "I hate 'em more for making a mess."

Aidan eyed her pistol wondering what to do now that she had run out of precious bullets. Wilks took the weapon from her and instead gave her his Gorgon SMG, she frowned at the twin magazine clips loaded diagonally into the beastly looking weapon.

"You're better off with an automatic," he commented, "I've got more ammo for that one anyway."

He holstered the Boltok pistol to the utility belt on his waist and clipped it safely away, he watched as Aidan aimed the Gorgon at nothing then held it loosely in one hand at her side.

"It's got one hell of a repeater kick so watch it," He took the lead towards the gap in the gates slightly hesitant to what was behind the doors then glanced back at her, "Well they're expecting company now, let's not let them down."


	22. Chapter 21: Fall Apart

**Chapter Twenty One – Fall Apart**

* * *

><p>Eli came to amidst darkness and for a moment he thought he had been blinded, he felt around him for any sign of where he was and could only feel the cold dankness of rock against his skin. At one point his hands took purchase on the fabric of the rucksack he had clung onto for dear life during the whole ordeal, he drew the bag closer to him and clutched it to his chest and for a moment he had no idea where he was or whether he was even alive. A shiver etched its way up his spine and fear crept through him, he fought back the urge to cry uncontrollably and tried to remind himself that he had to take control, he had to be the responsible adult.<p>

He called out into the darkness in the hope that something non-threatening and human responded to him. His voice reverberated around the cave, bouncing and whirling back at him from the craggy outcrops above him. He dug a hand into the depths of the rucksack, fishing around amongst the random trinkets his sister had offloaded onto him, stopping short of cursing her name at the useless items, his fingers took purchase on something cold and metal. He withdrew it from the bag and fumbled around the object, he picked out etchings along the side that he could distinctly remember as a COG symbol and it wasn't until he flipped the top and a tiny flicker of a flame jumped out at him that his heart soared. Quietly thanking his sister for rooting around Angelo's junk drawer he held the lighter at an arm's length to assess where he was.

He could pick out something not very far from him in a slumped heap, for a moment he hoped it was one of Junior Company, at last he wasn't left alone in the darkness with the monsters for company. He slipped the lighter in his pocket and crawled cautiously on his hands and knees towards the heap.

"Hello?" he asked quietly as he approached it.

He hesitated for a moment, something didn't seem right, and there was a smell that was making Eli's stomach churn. In the darkness he felt his way round the heap, touching fabric and working his way up to skin. It was definitely a human.

Fishing the lighter back out of his pocket he flicked the little sliver of light on and waved it over the body. Revealing whatever had been keeping him company, with it his entire body convulsed in horror.

He would have reluctantly accepted a dead body. But this carcass had been down here in the darkness rotting for a long time. Part of its face had been melted away by something he could only describe as acid, or maybe even, judging by the slight hint of glowing coming from a rotting eye socket it had been melted by Imulsion.

He turned to vomit up a surge of bile, as the scent of rotting flesh wafted into his nose. He kept retching until his body struggled for air, he tried to breathe through his mouth but the smell was still around him. It made him think of the time that the Lieutenant had told him when he was once on patrol in the sewers during the Pendulum Wars and it had stank so much he had to breathe through his ears.

Was it even possible?

Eli knew he'd be stupid to try, but even now as his mind was switching back to the man who had taken care of him for sixteen years, he felt an unbelievable sense of sadness and longing to return home. It made him wonder what Brewer would have done in this situation, would he have laid down and accepted his fate until whatever monsters were out there returned to deal the final blow? What was he thinking? Brewer was safe in Jacinto, not having to worry about a troop of troublesome teenagers. Eli could only assume that being rid of Junior Company was the best thing that could happen to Brewer.

And then Eli thought of his sister, where was she now, had she reached Jacinto safely or had the Stranded taken her, subjecting her to a lifetime of rape and imprisonment. Although he knew his sister well enough to know that she would fight until every ounce of her body had given up on her.

He was meant to protect her.

Some brother he was turning out to be when he couldn't even protect his own flesh and blood from humans, and they had hardly even encountered Locust yet. Now here he was stuck in the darkness waiting for death to find him, as if he was nothing more than a laid out snack for the glowing Berserker, who would probably come back sooner or later to mash his brains to a pulp.

He wasn't going to let that happen.

As if this procrastination had been enough for him to switch himself off to the stench of the carcass, Eli felt he was able to take in less laboured breaths and allowed his body to take full control of itself again. Slowly he made an effort to shuffle onto his haunches, using his arms to feel around him, blindly reaching above him in case the cave ceiling had any low outcrops that would take him by surprise. Eventually he staggered to his feet, relying completely on his remaining senses, to keep him alert.

His ribs throbbed in pain as he finally stretched up to his full height, he touched his chest, running a hand down each rib to work out where he was hurting. He then worked his way over his other extremities in case he missed any other essential injuries that might result in a fatality. He could cope with a cracked rib or the odd internal bleeding as long as he could live to walk another day.

He looked up after blindly attempting to reassure himself that he wasn't going to die of any imminent injuries and blinked, for what use it would do for him. The dry air was starting to irritate his eyes. As he glanced around the darkness and scrunched his eyes up again, this time he was certain he was starting to hallucinate.

Was that a light somewhere in the distance?

He rubbed his fists against his eyes and watched as the dull light emerged in the distance again. Before he was even able to rein himself in, hope soared inside him, now perhaps a chance to escape from this hell hole and find his sister.

He quickly scrabbled in the dirt for the rucksack and pulled it over his shoulders, ignoring the thudding reminder from his ribs. He slipped the lighter from his pocket and flicked it on and aimed it in the direction of the light, from what little flicker it gave it showed him that the cavern angled into a tunnel and continued thus so to till he couldn't see any further.

He made his decision quickly and slowly headed down the tunnel, in the hope that he would find a way out of the darkness.

* * *

><p>Every part of Lem's body hurt him as he lay for a while surfing his unconsciousness trying to overcome the pain that blasted through him. But somehow the sound of panicked whimpering kept pulling him away from his suspended state and every time he fought it, his consciousness kept pulling him away until he pealed his eyes open. He remained on his back starring blurry eyed up at the rocky canopy above him as stalactites reached downwards to him from so high above. He felt like he was still emerging from a dreamlike slumber until the pain surged through him again, jolting him back into reality. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth together to fight through the pain and then the sound of pitiful mewling alerted his attention.<p>

His eyes now wide open he rolled over onto his side to take note of his location, crude bars jammed into the ground at staggered intervals that held him and a few others captive. Torches burned dimly from jutting rocks along the cavern walls adding a little light to their ominous outlook. Big blue containers lined the area with a small pillar box gap in the side, one of the containers hung open and Lem couldn't help noting the splattering of blood inside it.

He turned away, looking around at the group and picking out Angelo, positioned away from the rest of the captives on his hands and knees coughing and crying. Now Lem knew why his body hadn't allowed him to let go, the sound of agony in Angelo's mournful cries surpassed any pain Lem was battling. He struggled to his knees and staggered drunkenly over to his friend dropping heavily beside him.

"I'm here Gelo," he breathed.

Angelo was in a bad state, he had thrown up a mixture of his stomach contents and a chunk of something that Lem couldn't quite identify, whatever it was it had brought up a lot of blood and brown liquid with it.

"Lem..." Angelo had barely let the words leave his lips before he was doubled over again coughing up brown chunks.

"Oh Gelo," Lem placed a hand on Angelo's back, he had been through some harrowing things with his best friend and most of it he had been able to take control of and fight to get them out of it. But there was nothing that scared him more than being powerless to help Angelo whilst the Rustlung ravaged his body from the inside out. Lem had noticed that it had gotten worse in recent years, but it was nothing that the medicine at the Compound couldn't keep maintained. Now miles away from home, sanctuary or any kind of medical help Lem was starting to worry whether his brother was going to make it.

"I'm here for you," he spoke softly, doing what he had always done best when Angelo had suffered some of his worst episodes.

He saw Angelo's hand scrabble frantically around for something to grab onto and automatically Lem offered his hand out. He felt Angelo's hot sweaty fingers clutch him so tightly in return as he watched him vomit anything his failing body wanted to expel from him. Lem would shield him from the humility for as long as he had strength to protect him.

"Try and relax Gelo, try and breathe," he soothed, all his attention fixed completely on Angelo, "Come on you know how to beat this."

Angelo's nails dug and scratched into Lem's hand as he tried to fight the pain, letting out a whimper or a mew of defeat every time he coughed up more blood. Eventually he looked up at Lem, his eyes bloodshot from a burst blood vessel and puffy from crying, his face splattered with blood and vomit but slowly and surely a tiny gasp of air seeped into his mouth. A light burst forth in his eyes as he sucked in another little measly sip of air.

Lem felt exhausted as Angelo greedily drank in the air around him, his coughing decreased and he sleepily curled up beside him to recover from the trauma. His entire body had shut down after the struggle it had put up against the disease inside him. Lem shook his head, there was no doubt that his condition had worsened since they had left the Compound. Angelo used to cough up blood but it had never been this violent and up until now he had been able to fight an episode without resulting in him collapsing from the ordeal.

Lem sat back and let his own pain surge through him again, it was worrying him that he couldn't remember much about how they had ended down in this dark cavern. He remembered the Stranded and how they had double crossed them and he remembered being drugged, then everything else seemed so foggy in his memory. He didn't really know where they were exactly and what had brought them down into the darkness. All he knew was that he had to get out with Angelo as soon as possible.

Eventually he stretched his legs out and attempted to stand up, a wave of pins and needles whooshed to his feet as the blood rushed to them. He took one giddy little step and winced at the mixture of pain and torture, he lifted one leg and kept stepping on it till he could feel in his foot again then tried the similar tactic for the other leg until he was able to walk without looking like he had a freakish limp.

Keeping Angelo resting within close proximity Lem staggered towards the bars that kept them prisoner, he pressed against them to assess their strength, but the towering pillar of twisted metal held firm. He counted the bars till he fixed upon a gate like structure, just as elaborately and crudely constructed as the cage they were being held in. He made his way to the gate and rattled the door, it was firmly locked with very little chance of smashing it down. He stood for a moment staring out into the darkness, leaning his forehead against the bars he closed his eyes in contemplation, how were they ever going to escape this.

A sound of heavy footsteps from the darkened passageway alerted him, he slowly opened his eyes to watch the outline of a tall heavily muscular towering figure approach them. As it loomed out of the darkness, its greyish scaly skin glowed slightly almost as if something was rippling inside the creature. It looked like a glowing infection was flowing heavily through the Drone's veins. It moved its Hammerburst from one hand to the other before realising it was being watched. The Drone lifted its head and looked back, its yellow soulless eyes stared hard in return catching Lem's gaze and forcing him to look away. It strode confidently towards the cage and stood close to the bars to eye Lem up further. Lem shrank back and stepped away at the sudden intrusion, the Drone was so much taller than he had ever imagined. It was the first time he had ever been so close to one that wasn't ready to blow his brains out. But then there was something different about this Drone, the glowing in its veins had worried Lem and a slight niggling from the back of his mind started coming to the forefront. Whatever it was that he couldn't remember had something to do with this glowing Drone. Lem swallowed nervously and watched the creature staring hard at him, there was so much aggression and anger in its expression as it wrapped a scaled claw like hand round one of the bars and squeezed it tightly. It opened its lipless mouth and snarled as if it was about to utter profanities at him but a throaty growl behind it alerted its attention and it turned around to see three other glowing Drones staring back at it with their furrows drawn in contempt. It released its grip on the bar and dropped away from the cage to return to the others as they continued down the passageway, just the glowing from their veins pulsated in the darkness.

Lem let his entire body sag in disappointment, until now some part of him had hoped that they would find a way to break out and return to the surface. But at the sight of their captors it made him think of the reasoning behind Angelo's mental state, he had obviously seen these monsters and realised that his fate was just as doomed as the rest of them.

Slowly he returned to his best friend's side and dropped to the floor beside him, letting out a stuttered breath of acceptance. If these glowing Locust were going to destroy them soulless piece by piece, he would do everything in his power to prevent Angelo from feeling any pain.

* * *

><p>Washington woke up covered in blood that wasn't his own, even though for a panicked moment he had patted down his entire body for any signs of external injury. He sat up suddenly and looked around him to see he was surrounded by dead or severely injured bodies. The remnant children of Junior Company missing bits of their bodies and bleeding so profoundly they didn't know what to do as they screamed and clung to each other for comfort. Beside Frost lay Mike, one of the teenagers who had run a group back at the Compound, he held onto his stomach with one hand as he tried to grab him with the other.<p>

"It's not looking good Frost," Mike coughed up blood from his lips as he pawed at Frost's leg.

Frost had no time to search for his own family, in this bloody state he half expected to find them amongst the dead or decapitated, but for now his instincts went to helping a friend. He shook himself into action and knelt beside Mike.

"Come on then Mike, show me the damage," he tried to say with an unfaltering strong voice, but quite clearly failed.

Mike's hands were covered in blood, as if he'd been dipping it in a bowl of blood for fun, he clutched at his stomach and hesitated for a moment. He then released his grip to reveal that Mike hadn't been far off dipping his hands in a bowl of blood. Except instead he had been holding onto his guts from a hole that was pumping out blood faster than Frost could do anything about. Frost let out a breath and smiled nervously at Mike.

"Oh it's not too bad Mike, I'm sure we can patch you up and you'll be up and about in no time," Frost couldn't help the lump in his throat as he tried to swallow it back.

He took hold of Mike's intestine as delicately as possible and tried to figure out the best way to pack it back in as it wobbled and slipped out of his fingers. He shivered at the thought of handling someone else's living internal body parts and hoped that he wasn't doing more damage than had already been created.

"How's it going Mike?" he called back, trying to make sure he kept his casualty as conscious as possible, Mike closed his eyes for a little longer than Frost would have liked, "Mike!"

"Sorry Frost," he murmured almost incoherently as blood drooled down the side of his mouth, "I just need a rest."

"No way Mike," he snapped, realising that he was finally winning the battle with the intestine as it started to fold back inside the body, "You need to stay awake for a little longer."

"But it looks like you have everything sorted," Mike's words slurred as if he was drunk and for a moment he tried to prop himself up on one elbow to assess Frost's work. He then started coughing, splattering blood across Washington's face.

Frost spat out Mike's blood onto the floor, but made no effort to wipe the rest of it away as his hands were worse than his face.

"Thanks for that Mike," he responded as softly as he could without trying to hide the hint of disgust in his voice.

"Sowi... Fross..." Mike's words had slowed and his breathing started to sound laboured as he flopped back on the floor again, blood bubbled out of his nose and mouth.

"Mike!" Frost called to him, still arm deep in his friend's wide open wound, "Mike!"

Mike's hand dropped from the resting position on his chest and his eyes rolled back into his head, he let out a splutter and a heavy sigh of relief.

"No Mike!" Frost released his hold on Mike's intestine and placed a hand on his head in comfort, "Mike stay with me."

For a moment Mike's eyes opened and stared blankly back at his old friend, he opened his lips and mouthed the words, "Tss... okay..."

Any life and soul that Mike had once had slipped effortlessly out of his body, his eyes grew dim as if the lights had been turned off and his entire body gave up the fight. Frost sat dumbfounded beside him, staring down at the blood on his hands unable to comprehend that he had lost a brother in arms. Slowly he placed a hand over Mike's face and pressed his eyelids down over his lifeless eyes, he couldn't bear to look the dead in the eye.

He sat silently contemplating the fate of those around him, and he doubted his ability as a leader. He felt responsible for Mike, he should have protected him, not walked him into the belly of beast. All those years believing that he had been trained to be better than all this, here he was with the heavy armour and the leader complex, and he had let these children die when he was responsible for them. He was no better than the Stranded that bartered them away.

A little mouse like voice squeaked behind him and he turned aggressively towards it to see little Dave Croker cowering behind him all this time, watching as he pathetically tried to patch Mike together. The boy could have helped instead he sat and waited for the inevitable, but then who was he kidding, Mike was going to die regardless if there was no medical help for him.

"What do you want kid?" he snapped, not caring about being a role model for anyone anymore.

"I'm sorry Washington," his little voice cracked on the verge of tears, "You did all you could."

"I did all I..." Frost moved to eye the boy up, he didn't know how but the kid didn't have a single scratch on him, "Don't you dare..."

For the first time Frost saw what remained of Junior Company, he could see Lem sitting protectively over Angelo in the far corner of the cell and the now lifeless bodies of some of the younger children sprawled across the ground. Blood soaked the floor around them and the anger inside him boiled up till he could no longer contain it. Unfortunately for David he was the only one around to take the full impact.

"You sit there and you say I did all I could, how dare you!" he shouted, "Look at you, not a scratch on you and yet you scoffed down the food from the Stranded and slept through the nightmare. Some of those children never woke up from the way those bastards treated them and the rest who did were gored by a monster. I sat through it all and realised if only I chose to keep going, if only I thought about them for a change rather than myself. I'm meant to be a leader, but look what I've done, I've destroyed the lot of you."

David stared back at him, deciding not to respond to the violent outburst, it was true he hadn't been injured, but then neither had he tried to put himself purposefully in harm's way. He didn't get where he was today by being an idiot, but then he could also see that Frost was trying to protect the idiots that followed them and in doing so he had failed. David liked Frost, but he could also see that he was delusional if he thought that one teenager was going to lead them all out of this mess alive.

Frost lowered his head and pinched the brow of his nose as if to release the tension that was building up inside him, he let out a heavy sigh loud enough for David to hear.

"Look," he started; his voice had lost its aggression and sounded as if he was ready to accept his fate, "I'm sorry kid. I'm not blaming you. I just... I just don't think I can keep doing this anymore."

* * *

><p>Eli had followed the light until the tunnel had led into a large cavern, his eyes squinted at this new burst of flame from the torches on the walls. He waited till his fifth sense regained its composure and hid behind the numerous giant blue metallic containers. He took note of the area and fixed his main attention on the large holding cell where he could see few humans were being kept prisoner. He spent a while figuring out if his brothers were still alive, picking out features from the ones that he could see moving.<p>

A sound from the darkness forced him to sink back behind his hiding place as a troop of glowing Locust marched hurriedly passed, their weapons held at the ready as their leader bellowed demands to them. He watched them disappear down the tunnel and decided to make his move. He jumped out from his hiding place and ran towards the holding cell. He stopped to grab hold of a rock and rushed to the cell door, bashing at the lock with unbridled enthusiasm.

The few conscious survivors in the cell looked up at Eli's attempts at a jailbreak as he kept hammering at the lock with the chunk of stone. Lem eventually staggered to his feet and made his way towards him.

"Eli, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh not much just mowing the lawn," he paused to glance sharply at Lem, "What the hell do you think I'm doing Lem?"

"But the Locust..."

"I'm just guessing but I think they have more pressing matters to attend to right now," a shard of stone chipped off the rock as he smashed it repeatedly against the lock.

"They're going to hear you Eli, just run for it," Lem gripped the bars to stare at him, "They'll come back before we even escape."

"No," there was a fierceness in Eli's voice that reminded Lem of Aidan, it was easy to forget how similar the pair were sometimes, he looked back at Lem with a look of determination, "I'm not leaving you down here."

Lem could see that the lock was starting to give as the metal door bent slightly at each blow and for a moment he allowed his hopes to rise.

Until a heavy grey claw grabbed hold of Eli and thrust him forcibly across the cavern floor, more glowing Locust had arrived. One aggressively smashed its Hammerburst against the cage bars as a caution to the captives, Lem leapt backwards in shock and called out Eli's name. Another Drone picked up the rock and loomed over Eli as he tried to clamber back to his feet, it kicked him in the ribs to keep him to the ground, Eli let out a cry of pain as his ribs cracked inside him.

"Stoopid Ooman," it mocked as it held the rock over Eli's head and swung back to land the final blow.


	23. Chapter 22: A Lesson in Gunfire

**Chapter Twenty Two – A Lesson in Gunfire**

* * *

><p>A gunshot rang out from the darkness and the bullet struck the glowing Drone's hand just as it went to throw the landing blow, it leapt back letting out a yelp in pain as it dropped the rock from its grip.<p>

"I said aim for the head," A voice called from the tunnel.

"I did, but the head kept moving," another voice responded.

A blast of firepower stuttered forth and thundered into the Drone's chest, it barely had a chance to withdraw its bleeding hand before it staggered backwards at the flurry of bullets into its thick hide. The Drone's companions took cover leaving the beast to drop to the ground and pitifully howl out to them for help as its life drained slowly away. Its veins throbbed with fluorescent fluid as the liquid worked its way out of the Drone's body snaking across the rocky ground towards the other glowing Drones, their own bodies pulsated in response as the fluid merged with their own bodies.

Wilks, now pressed up against cover in the darkness of the tunnel, watched the whole thing in confusion; he turned and frowned at Aidan, who was lining up her next shot with the Longshot, one eye closed and the other fixed on the target.

"Did you just see..?"

"The goo moved Wilks," she replied between clenched teeth.

"First glowing Wretches now the Drones are glowing,"

Aidan pulled on the trigger and watched through the sights as the bullet landed heavily in a glowing Drone's throat. It let in a gasp and clawed at its airways, Wilks in return let out a burst of bullets from his Lancer and took the monster down to its knees, he kept firing at it till his clip emptied and the sound of hollow clicking forced him to duck down behind cover again.

"I keep missing the headshot," she grumbled.

"You're still new to this," he dug around in his ammo pouch and pulled out a handful of bullets, sliding the magazine case from his Lancer and slotting the bullets into place, he glanced across at Aidan and watched her technique as he jammed the full magazine case back into the Lancer, "Just keep trying, that's the best way to improve."

A bullet ricocheted off the cavern wall beside Aidan, chipping off a shard of rock that spat back at her slicing her cheek, she let out a yelp and dropped behind the cover beside Wilks, rubbing a cursory hand over the cut.

"You alright?" he asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

She nodded, "Yeah but I'm learning to hate caves."

He peered back over cover to fire again at the glowing Locust, preventing them from advancing, sensing Aidan preparing for a shot beside him, he took a carefully calculated moment to slip back behind cover to watch her.

"Just relax," He told her softly, "Slowly breathe out and take your shot."

As if she instantly responded to him he saw her body exhale relaxing downwards and at the same time she pulled very gently on the trigger. Her intended target, sensing that her crosshairs were matched up on its skull dodged the shot, diving to one side and the bullet imbedded itself in the cave wall behind it. Wilks, who had been watching her target carefully was able to counteract the creature's actions and blasted the beast with a burst from his Lancer enough to stop it in its tracks so Aidan could take the finishing blow with the Longshot. It splattered glowing brains and splintered skull with a satisfying pop. Aidan let out an overjoyed howl of pleasure and the look of pure delight painted over her face as she beamed back at Wilks.

"Not bad," he smirked, her reactions had become contagious he had never really understood the joy of a headshot, until now, "Next time the shot's all yours and I won't help you."

She swapped her Longshot for the Gorgon a wide grin on her face as satisfaction oozed from her psyche. She enjoyed working in tandem with Wilks, there was something about him that made it easier for her to follow his directions. Previously she had been known to snap at anyone other than the Lieutenant who thought they could give her orders. But she couldn't explain why she was so willing to obey Wilks, maybe it was because she had seen firsthand what he could do and that he had protected her this far. All she knew was that she relied on his directions and advice, she couldn't imagine being alive without him.

The Gorgon stuttered out a spray of bullets and splattered into the chest of the next incoming beast, it staggered backwards and she fired at it again, it let out a roar and started to charge towards them.

"Wilks!" Aidan called to him.

"I got it!" he revved his chainsaw, the blades buzzed loudly as he descended over cover and ran towards the charging creature meeting it head on. He thrust the chainsaw deep into the beast's chest cavity pushing it so hard that it burst though the other side of its stomach, spewing out a spattering of entrails and guts. Wilks grit his teeth together and snarled as he heaved the chainsaw up through the creature's body, the blades rapidly spluttered and sliced through bone, shattering rib and spine, blood splattered everywhere as he split the beast in half, leaving lifeless chunks to drop the floor in a bloody mass.

Not content with his rampage he charged forward at the remaining glowing creatures, racing the flow of glowing fluid as it searched for a new host, bursting forth from the lumps of bloodied gore around them. Aidan remained behind the rocky protection and continued to lay down fire for Wilks as he lunged between cover to descend upon the enemy with a purring chainsaw.

The sound of thundering against metal rang out from the holding cell where Lem was rapping hard against the bars, his fists struck the twisted struts and he hollered out to the incoming pair. He had never felt so relieved to see a human in his life. He watched in awe as Wilks carved his way through the creatures holding them prisoner, a look of determination on his face. The beasts didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight, one dropped its weapon in an attempt to flee only to be shot in the back by its comrade in outrage at its defiance. Confusion blurred the battle until all that was left was a trail of glowing fluid disappearing into the darkness and a mass of dead bodies.

Aidan leapt from cover and sprinted towards her brother who lay doubled over clutching at his chest.

"Eli!" she cried, dropping to her knees to tend to him.

Eli felt the pain of his cracked ribs, he lay back trying to figure out the best course of action, he seemed to be breathing without too much of a problem. His sister helped him to a sitting position, checking him over as he felt relief sweep over him, never had he been so close to having his head smashed in, never had he been so happy to have to sister come to his aid.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," he breathed unsteadily and reached out to hug her in return, he felt her stiffened body relax at his touch and hugged him back.

"I was so worried," she whispered to him, before realising where she was and releasing her hold.

Wilks had been working his way through the dead bodies, picking up the weapons and firing the necessary rounds through any survivors. He approached the dented gateway to the holding cell and accessed it for a moment. Lem had been watching his every move, following him inside the cage until he stood in front of the Gear as he eyed up his next obstacle.

"Eli tried bashing it down with a rock before they found him,"

"Hmm," he thoughtfully thumped at the lock with a closed fist testing the pliability of the metal. He turned his back to the cell to search the surrounding area for something he could possibly use, picking up a Hammerburst, "You might want to move back a bit."

Lem nodded at the warning and stepped away from the gate to watch at a carefully calculated distance.

Wilks fired a couple of shots into the lock, pausing to ram his shoulder against the gate to give it that extra shove to freedom, he stopped and revved up the chainsaw, sparks spat back at him in defiance as the gate stood resolute. With thoughtful consideration he flipped the weapon round and started hammering at the lock with the butt of the gun. He stopped mid bash as he picked up on something tucked behind one of the blue containers, quietly he wandered over and bent down to pick it up, producing an undetonated smoke grenade in an outstretched hand.

"Perfect," he announced with a flourish, planting the grenade on the door and taking a couple of steps back to fire at it.

Lem watched curiously, "You know that it's only a smoke grenade, it's not going to do much else other than make a lot of smoke."

"Ah yes, but you see my dear boy, the end product of a smoke grenade is smoke, but when it sets off it also gives out a nasty kick. I don't suppose you've felt the stun of smoke grenade,"

Lem shook his head in response and took a couple of extra steps backwards for good measure. He watched as Wilks carefully lined up the grenade from the iron sights of the Hammerburst firing a couple of shots into the grenade until it beeped and burst in a jolt of smoke. The area filled with smoke, the enveloped white cloud lingered momentarily leaving wispy tendrils of ghostly fingers. The smoke receded resulting in a stilted muggy air with a hint of metallic taste tinged to it. Lem unfurled himself and returned to the gate which had now bowed slightly inwards, just enough for Wilks to run at it and launching into it shoulder first, bursting through the cell door in a stumbling flourish.

"Amazing!" Lem marvelled as Wilks staggered to steady himself then wildly glanced around the cell that held the remainder of the Survivors.

"My God..." Wilks stopped mid sentence as he noted the dead bodies of the small children that he had last seen when he left them at the Stranded Camp.

Lem had returned to Angelo, gently shaking him to wake him to their freedom, the boy looked blurrily back at his friend, taking note of the look of triumph in his eyes.

"Gelo come on, we're free," Very slowly he helped him to his feet, Angelo leaning heavily on Lem letting him take his weight as he walked him out of the holding cell. Lem could still hear Angelo's laboured breathing and the rattling sound in his chest as he tried to force in a breath.

David, who had been sitting near to Washington, jumped quickly to his feet, sprinting passed Wilks and out of the cell quicker than anyone had imagined he was capable. Coming to a reluctant stop beside the twins after counting his losses and realising that he was better off if he stayed with the group than heading off alone in a place he didn't even know existed until a few hours ago.

Wilks paused for a moment at Frost's slumped form, who had not so long ago oozed confidence and aggression. Now his eyes had lost the youthful glimmer and he was starting to look worryingly like a soldier who had tried to take on the whole Locust army and lost. He was splattered in drying blood across his face and hands and had made no effort to wipe it from him, Wilks could sympathise with the guy who was witnessing all this suffering for the first time. He offered a hand out to Frost to help him to his feet, instead the teenager looked back at his fingerless gloves and just sighed.

"Come on Frost," he used the name Aidan had referred to many times, "It's time to go."

Frost shook his head, staring back at the body of a dead teenager beside him, one hand kept firmly on the shoulder.

"I lost him," he mumbled almost incoherently, "I tried to save him."

Wilks frowned, looking briefly over at the dead body and the intestines that spewed forth from him, he didn't have to be a doctor to know that the boy hadn't stood a chance.

"You can't save 'em all Frost," He told him, "Come on, get up, we need to go."

Frost took a moment before responding calmly and confidently, "No."

"What the hell you talking about, you can't stay here,"

"I can't do this anymore," his voice quietened.

Wilks glanced across at the remaining survivors who were now gathering outside the cell, Aidan had taken the initiative and had picked up the salvaged Hammerbursts and started handing them out to whoever would take it. He felt himself flush in pride as he watched her command the group with a different confidence he had seen in her before. He then looked back at Frost and realised that he needed someone who understood what he was going through, someone who could push him to keep going. Like his father once did to him. He squat down beside Frost to meet his gaze head on.

"Frost, I know how you're feeling right now, trust me, but I need you to get up for me and keep going," his voice kept to a low grumbled tone, enough for Frost to understand how he felt.

"I can't..." he faltered, pain shattered the dulled reflection in his eyes, "I'm done."

"Look, pal," clearly empathy wasn't working, so Wilks opted to deal with him the way any COG trained Corporal would, "We got sick and injured people here, we need to get them out of this hell hole before anything else discovers we've been blowing holes out of their wallpaper. I need you to come with me."

"N..." Frost started to interrupt but Wilks stopped him.

"I'm not asking I'm ordering," he hated pulling rank on someone who so clearly was trying to reach out and ask for help, but at the end of the day he had to protect the survivors, and his training had always taught him to preserve life first, sort out non life threatening issues afterwards.

Frost flinched at his sudden shift in tone and he stiffened, lifting his chin to look directly at his superior he glared back, there was no way Frost would ever understand the horrors that Wilks had encountered without him going into it in detail.

"You've got issues, I see that, but there is a time and a place for this pussyfooting and we both know that this is not the time. We can sit down and discuss this when we are out of this shit hole. Do you understand me?"

Frost let out a heavy sigh and nodded obediently, "Yes sir."

"Now get up and help me get these guys out of this place,"

Frost reluctantly made his way to his feet, plodding silently in front of Wilks until he had made it out of the cell and reunited with the others. Aidan noted the pair with a cursory nod of the head and offered a Hammerburst to Frost who took it quietly.

Wilks, who would have happily relinquished leadership if Frost had been up to the job, instead found himself assess his group of six from the original fifteen. It saddened him to think that so many innocents had been lost along the way and they still hadn't even made it to Jacinto. Aidan approached him with a look of complete loyalty in her eyes, he'd won her respect by helping her save her family, he had a long way to go with the others if they were ever going to trust him, but at least he had one ally.

"You all right?" he asked her quietly, he couldn't help noticing that she had avoided looking at Washington and the blood that splattered him.

She nodded uncertainly, "I think I just need to get out of here."

"You and me both, I'm too far below ground to feel comfortable," he turned to the group and addressed them, "We're going to head out of this place now, I need you to keep your eyes peeled and keep together. We're a much smaller group now, which means we need to work together to get out of here, it's a long walk so we're going to take our time but I don't want us to stop for anything that isn't an emergency. I see Aidan has given out weapons, please be careful when handling and whatever you do don't aim a loaded gun at anyone you don't want to shoot."

The group gazed at him with blank expressions, Lem supporting Angelo, Eli wincing as he lifted the Hammerburst higher, David opting not to hold a weapon and looking oddly out of place and Frost who looked like a guy who had given up the fight. Wilks knew more than ever that he had to get them back to Jacinto somehow if they stood a chance at getting through this together.

He took point and led them through the dark tunnels, his flashlight picking out features he recognised from their descent. He had a nervous feeling that it wouldn't be long before the glowing Locust had discovered their captives had escaped and were in pursuit, for this reason he pressed ahead. The group kept close to him, every step he took he knew that the small boy David was on his heels, Aidan had dropped back to keep beside her brother as he seemed to be struggling a little with his ribs and Frost helped Lem with Angelo. Wilks turned his light off the moment he could see the faint glow from the Imulsion pools, which meant that they were closing in on the giant gateway, once they were through it was just a long trek through darkness.

But the monsters had other ideas.

A loud ear shattering scream echoed down the tunnels, the ground shook under heavy thudding footsteps, gathering speed as it thundered through the darkness. They felt the footsteps become heavier as the pursuing beast took long strides closer to them. Wilks paused turning around to see the eerie glow of the looming creature, wild angry blind eyes seeking for prey within the darkness. Huge spiny tentacles flailed and swung out like feelers tasting the air for scent of human. Wilks had never seen a glowing Berserker before, every inch of her veins pulsated like the glowing drones he had taken down earlier. This time, however, he doubted he had an answer for the next threat to their lives.

"Guys," he tried to keep his voice to a calm order, but he still couldn't control the quiver that gave away his emotions, "Run."

The others turned as the incoming Berserker charged frantically at them, howling in a fuming anguished rage as she blindly knocked against the rocky tunnels. They felt the cave shake at the impact, dust and debris dislodged from the roof and crumbled above them. Angelo stopped dead, staring in panicked disbelief at the monstrosity charging towards them, at the same time his lungs refused to function. He clutched at his throat and felt his body go limp, Lem caught him before he could drop to the floor grabbing hold of his shoulder to support him.

"It's back Lem," he gasped.

"Oh come on Gelo!" Lem had always tried his hardest to keep any frustration out of his voice when it came to his friend's illness, but this time he cursed Angelo for choosing his timings just perfectly.

He dragged Angelo along for about two steps until he nearly fell over with the weight, he stumbled to his knees and staggered mid stride back to his feet again. It wasn't until he felt the weight lighten that he thought for a moment that at last Angelo had pulled himself together, but as he turned Frost linked his arm around his shoulder to take the heavier half of Angelo.

"Thanks Frost," Lem called as they both tried to run whilst dragging Angelo's dead weight.

"We can't keep running like this," Frost breathed between clenched teeth as he stopped abruptly squatted down and lifted Angelo up into a piggyback. Angelo gripped his arms around Washington's neck and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling each tired footstep after another as they ran to catch up with the others, the sound of the looming Berserker as she screamed in pursuit sent petrified shivers down his spine.

Wilks glanced back as they sprinted through the gate towards the bridge, he kept his Lancer in hand in case they met any resistance, so far their main threat was currently chasing them and he had no answer to her. He could see the rest of the group keep close behind him, Frost had taken up the weakest member onto his back and was gaining on their lost ground.

At was at this point that Aidan's feet decided that they didn't want to behave themselves and she felt one foot land awkwardly on the rocky ground, her ankle twisting hard on itself. She glided dramatically across the floor on her knees till gravity caused her to stop, she picked herself up her knees burning as blood trickled down her shins, her jeans had ripped open and had started to blot her wounds. She felt a hand on her shoulder as her brother helped her to her feet, an urgency in the way he kept pushing her forward, so she kept running, feeling a screaming pain through her ankle each time she put her weight on it.

The group sprinted across the bridge, Wilks had pulled far enough ahead that he had reached the peak of the slope. The blind Berserker relentless in her pursuit for them and his only answer to her was to put their lives in further danger. He felt for the trio of grenades attached to his utility belt, unbuckling the strap with one hand he fumbled to keep a grip on it as the explosives swung on their chain. He stopped as the blackened tunnel started to narrow and planted grenades along the opening, waiting before he pulled the pins and set his trap.

The others raced towards him, the monstrosity almost on their heels now, as they haired past him into the darkness he went to work pulling out the pins and setting the explosives. Aidan drew to a halt a few steps away from him, letting the others continue down the tunnel without her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, a look of concern across her face.

"Just run," he ordered, trying to keep his voice level.

"Not without you,"

He could curse her stubbornness and as he glanced at her ready to give her the lecture about doing what was best for them he saw a look in her eyes he had never seen in another human being, it was more than complete faith, it was a devotion he couldn't quite pinpoint.

"I'll be behind you, I promise,"

"I'll run when you run," he frowned at her and she returned with an equally defiant glare.

The Berserker let out a howl as she ploughed towards them, Wilks took the initiative and grasped hold of Aidan's wrist and sprinted into the darkness behind the others, she stumbled on her injured foot causing Wilks to support her under her arm as they ran. As the beast reached the tunnel opening their entire world shook. The grenades exploded together, trapping the Berserker and cracking the tunnel walls so that their exit started to fall apart. The roof started breaking up, rock tumbled above them and darkness engulfed them. The Berserker screeched as the mass of bedrock crushed her further sending the eerie howl echoing down the crumbling tunnel.

They kept running through the darkness, aware of the rocks falling around them, each one of them kept forcing themselves forward, willing each step away from danger. Angelo clung to Frost's back, eyes closed throughout the whole encounter, small shards of rock tumbled against him as he felt the tunnel give way around them.

The tunnel felt longer than any of them had ever realised, even Wilks at the peak of fitness felt himself falter down the never ending black hole, all he could hope for was at least some glimmer of light down the end of the tunnel. But the rubble kept falling and the tunnel kept winding, he could feel Aidan falter beneath him as she stumbled trying to put as much weight as she could on her bad ankle. He could hear her heavy breathing as they pursued the others, the crunching and cracking of rock around them the only thing that kept them going.

Lem let out a gasp of relief as he saw faded light in the distance, they were so close to freedom now, even David had found a new spout of energy as he dodged falling rocks to sprint out of the cave. The cool air rushed to meet them, so close, enticing them further, creeping into the tunnel as if to pull them out. The grey evening sky burst forth as they ran onto the hill safe out of the cave, the falling rock trapping anything behind them.

They stood for a moment, staring at each other in disbelief. None of them risking to speak of their relief at their freedom in case it was taken away from them. They panted and breathed and sighed in exhaustion, Frost released Angelo from his grip to let him drop to the ground as he too collapsed to the floor. Aidan shook as the adrenaline that had kept her going seeped from her. She started out with tiny giggles that stuttered into shaky laughter, she unashamedly leaned into Wilks' shoulder as the guffaws turned into deep shuddering sobs. He stood for a moment unsure on his next movements before placing a protective arm around her to allow her to break down in his safety.

"Guys, I'm sorry to break this to you but we can't stay here," he told the group, realising that they were still on the massacred hillock overlooking the sunken Stranded Camp.

Eli looked at the scenery around them as nightfall dipped around them, he had no idea how long they had been down in the cavern, but he knew for certain he didn't want to rest where so much blood had been spilt around them.

"Where do you suggest we go Wilks?" he asked.

"We keep walking till our legs can't keep going and we are as far from this hell hole as possible,"

"But I'm tired now," David interjected.

Wilks looked down on David and frowned, snapping sharply at him, "Kid, I suggest you shut the fuck up before I do it for you."

David's eyes widened in sudden disbelief, as if he wondered whether or not a man like Wilks was capable of such aggression, opting to play his cards right he nodded his head and squeaked a yes in response.

Wilks' tone softened as he addressed the others, "Look we can rest over in the buildings Aidan and I took shelter in previously, we can sleep as long as we want to then."

They headed in the direction of the ruins, Eli took the lead along with Lem as the others followed them. Wilks hung back a moment with Aidan before addressing her quietly.

"You all right?"

She pulled away from his shoulder and looked back blurry eyed at him, she nodded slowly.

"I guess I'm just tired," she responded, wiping the tears away with the palm of her hand, "I never pegged myself as overly emotional, I can't understand why I keep feeling like this."

He walked with her, supporting her as she hobbled alongside him, "You're not used to all this, trust me when I first starting fighting monsters I cried myself to sleep every night."

As they walked in silence he cleared his throat and continued, "Although I'd rather you not tell anyone else about that. Kinda messes with my badass persona I'm trying to portray."

"Next thing you'll be telling me you have a stuffed teddy called fluffy at home," she smiled.

"He's called Ted actually,"

Aidan shot him a look as he sent her a wicked smirk in response.

"Well that's one thing, I'll keep you guessing,"


	24. Chapter 23: An Offer

**Chapter Twenty Three – An Offer**

* * *

><p><strong>Outskirts of Jacinto<strong>

**-Three Days Later-**

Razorhail clanged and pinged off the corrugated metal roof; a torrential downpour sliced, ricocheted and pooled at the barren ground. The hazy moonlight bathed the damp earth in a cold icy illumination.

Locust had overrun the main highway into Jacinto. Which was more than Wilks was willing to risk to get them into the city. So instead he opted to take them via the recently disused railway. They had plodded quietly along the tracks in the day time and had taken refuge in the abandoned station terminals at nightfall.

Wilks watched the darkness in silence, perched amidst the rubble inside of their hideout for the night. He had managed to pull down the heavily rusted shutters and barricaded the gaping holes in the doors to give the group some kind of protection as they slept under his watch.

He wearily rubbed a hand through his dark hair, running his fingers along the edges of the bandage on the back of his head, thoughtfully chewing on his bottom lip he pulled the covering off wincing as it pulled away at his hair. With the tips of his fingers he blindly poked and prodded at his healing wound, he was never one to leave scabs to heal naturally, it was always far more interesting giving it a prod in the right direction.

He stared down at the Thrashball cap in his hand, the fading blue fabric and intricately stitched emblem the last reminder of his deceased father. It was times like these when the darkness enveloped him, when the sadness and loneliness swept through him like a sickness, causing his body to shudder and chill. He had never thought an existence without his father had been possible. In the months after the discovery of his death Wilks had felt he was drowning as an indescribable force sucked him down into the ether. Every aching squeeze of his heart felt like his last. Even those close to him failed to drag him from the current, forcing his referral to psychiatrists.

Thus such a long leave of absence from the front line.

Even today he felt like a fraud, aware of the therapist's scathing notes of the antisocial soldier refusing to accept treatment, kicking up a fuss the moment she knew he was being sent back on active duty.

All because everything had been cruelly ripped away from him.

"Wilks?" a small voice uttered softly from the darkness.

He twisted from his seat to pick out the familiar form of his companion, her gentle curls mussed up from sleep twisting and weaving a wild mass around her flushed cheeks. She rubbed her fists against her eye sockets, clearing away the sandy sleep from her eyes as she approached him. For the first time he could see the child inside the girl, as she padded in torn bloodied jeans, the sleeves from her top ripped and tattered, loose threads hung down her forearm now clotted in blood from the wound on her upper arm.

"You know I have a first name," he berated her softly, unable to understand why he was able to feel so much compassion about the girl before him.

She took a moment to wake herself fully before shooting him with a tired smirk, "Well I thought Idiot would be inappropriate for the time of night."

"Touché, my confusingly named friend,"

She sat on the floor nearby, crossing her legs neatly under her to join Wilks in staring out at the deadly wet night. He glanced down at the crown of her head, wondering why she had chosen to join him, as he opened his mouth to shoot her a question she volunteered her answer.

"I had a nightmare," she said quietly.

Wilks had never taken the comforting role before, as a kid any nightmares he had been subjected to were usually shrugged off by older mentors or laughed at by his peers. His father had always viewed nightmares as a weakness. He figured this was the wrong approach with Aidan.

"It was just a dream," he started, realising as she turned to stare back at him that her experiences had been anything but, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He sensed her hesitancy, those years of suppressing the fear, being taught to box away the emotions and carry on. It didn't surprise him that the COG had used this as a tactical training approach and it probably explained the mental mess he was in.

"You could talk to one of the others if you would prefer,"

She flinched, "No, I can't tell them, they can't know."

"Well, talk to me then,"

"Every time I close my eyes I keep seeing those Locust, every dream I have I am tormented by those creatures,"

He frowned at her, "I don't quite understand. Was this your dream?"

She stopped herself, sending a glance in the direction of her slumbering group, she knew they would lose any respect they had for her the moment they knew the truth. Her gaze then shifted to the waiting Gear, who watched her from the shadows, his face lit slightly by the blue indicators on his armour. She knew she would have more to lose by confiding in this soldier, but she trusted him to understand her demons.

"Back at the Compound," she started quietly, "I watched the Locust mow down a group of small children and I tried, I wanted to help them, but I was too late. I lay there watching them blast bullets into every last one for fear of being detected myself. I saved my own ass when I could have saved them."

Wilks held his breath before exhaling heavily, "Right..."

She continued as if he hadn't spoken, "It keeps haunting me, every time I shut my eyes I see those monsters smash down the door and pumping bullets into those tiny children as if they were nothing more than target practice. The little ones even clung to each other to protect themselves. I still hear their cries in my sleep. They called for their mummies Wilks, they called and no one came.

He mulled over his answer before responding, "For months I was afraid to sleep, I kept seeing that Wretch catching hold of me and ripping me apart. I still feel its personal tattoo burn into my skin as if it was still happening. I don't sleep much these days because it's the only thing I see in my sleep. And if I'm really lucky it'll carry the shotgun that blows my father's brains out."

She frowned quite angrily at him, as if her faith and trust in him had been dashed, forcing him to elaborate further.

"What I am trying to say is that there isn't a human on Sera who doesn't have their own personal Locust nightmares. You've been lucky to have escaped it for so long."

Her shoulders slumped at the revelation that the one person who could have given her sympathy refused to offer it.

"I'm sorry if you expected more, Aide," he explained, referring to the name her brother used, "I understand your pain, I really do. But your experiences make you who you are. I wouldn't be this 'Dashing Debonair Kick Ass' of a Gear if it wasn't for the nightmares that came with me."

"You sure the words they described you were 'Dashing and Debonair' and not 'Bonehead and Loser'," she sniped back at him.

"Insults come so easily to you don't they," he responded sharply.

"To you they do," she twisted to smile back at him, a twinkle of mischief in her eye.

"You're a good kid Aide," he patted her lightly on her back before stretching up to his feet, "You'll do just fine."

"What if fine isn't good enough for me?" she asked quietly.

"You sound just like I used to do, before this happened," he made a sweeping gesture towards his face, "Sometimes 'fine' is the best it's gonna get."

"But..."

"Sometimes you might want to stop and think about the others every once in a while. We can only imagine what those guys went through. Don't make assumptions you're worse off than they are,"

"But I never..."

"I'm not lecturing you Aide, I want you to understand that whatever we went through back at that Stranded Camp cannot be compared to your brothers' experiences,"

Her responding silence was enough for him understand her disappointment. She let out a heavy sigh, "Since we've found the others no one has wanted to talk to me, no one meets my eyes anymore. I don't know what they went through and I'm starting to hate that lonesome feeling."

"Which is why I'm here," he said with a welcoming smile, "If you need to talk, talk to me."

"But you won't be here forever, as soon as we get to Jacinto you'll happily ditch us for your squad,"

He was silent for a moment, he hadn't given his squad much thought recently. He knew that Cam would have taken over the moment Wilks had gone AWOL and he would probably greet his return with as much reluctance as giving up a lung.

"You ever thought what you'd do once we reach Jacinto?" he asked her quietly, planting himself on his haunches beside her, wondering himself whether he was ready to return to the rigmarole of fighting for his life on a daily basis, would his therapist put her foot down this time and stop him.

"Well my cover is kinda blown, can't really pull off playing a boy in a populated city no matter how masculine my name is," she gazed at the palms of her hands in the darkness, "Truth is I have no idea what the future holds for me anymore."

"You could always become a soldier," he suggested.

"I somehow get the feeling the COG would be reluctant to dump an eager teenage girl in the midst of a testosterone fuelled battlefield without taking advantage of my uterus beforehand,"

"Unless..."

She sent him a quizzical look, "Continue."

"You could join my squad," he paused to plant the idea further within her before elaborating, "Obviously you are still underage, but if I was assigned guardianship I could help train you until you were independent and confident enough for you to go it alone. Unless of course you actually wanted to stay with us."

She didn't respond straight away, staring out into the darkness thoughtfully assessing the options that had opened up to her. She was silent for so long that Wilks feared that he had stepped over the line and had pushed her that one step further than she was willing to go. He watched as she glanced in the direction of her slumbering family, then looking back at the night landscape for further contemplation.

"I don't understand," she quietly responded after what seemed an eternity, "You actually want me in your squad?"

"Well I believe we work well together," he blushed, turning away from her so he could continue without her watchful scrutiny, "There are also some things I would personally like to work on with you."

"Wow," she marvelled, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Unfortunately I doubt I'd be allowed to extend the welcome to your entire family, so the invitation would only be offered to you. It's a big decision to make so think on it for a while and let me know when we get to Jacinto."

She nodded slowly and thoughtfully, for the first time she was looking at the biggest decision in her life; to choose Wilks over her family. She would never have thought that this battle scarred slightly idiotic soldier who muscled his way into their life and ripped all normality from it, was now offering her an opportunity at a new existence. What scared her most was that she was seriously considering taking up his offer.

"Am I interrupting?" Frost's sharp voice cut through their silence, both Aidan and Wilks jumped at his quiet approach as if they were guilty of some scandalous affair.

Wilks took to his feet almost in defence, "Didn't expect anyone else to be awake."

"Yeah well I'm a light sleeper," Frost kept his suspicious eyes fixed on Aidan as she refused to meet his gaze.

Wilks watched the tension mount between the pair; Frost oozed hostility but instead of letting it out on the soldier responsible he was holding Aidan solely to blame. He could see the demons eating away at the lad that once had so much promise.

"Take a seat," he offered with a clear of the throat, "We were just dis..."

"I'd rather not," Frost snapped icily back, eyes still locked on Aidan as he addressed Wilks, "I think you should go and wake the others, they've slept enough don't you think."

The soldier hesitated a moment, he didn't appreciate rudeness no matter how much Frost had gone through. But now wasn't the time to tear the teen apart over a couple of snide remarks, he would take the higher ground and choose the right time to talk properly to him. So he held his tongue and plodded towards the other children, leaving the pair alone.

Aidan felt a sickness inside her as Frost's glare seared through the back of her head. She was finding it hard to understand why she could no longer feel at ease with him, whatever experiences he had gone through had changed the boy she once called her brother.

"You didn't waste your time did you," he sneered at her, causing her to turn around and frown back at him in confusion, "I don't even want to look at you."

He stormed to their cache of weapons and picked up a Hammerburst, not his weapon of choice but as long as it had bullets it was enough to comfort him from the demons that haunted him.

There was once a time when he could confide completely in the girl that sat miserably in silence nearby, every worry or concern shared in the darkness together as they exorcised their monsters. But for the first time in his life he felt that he had lost her. He longed to sit down and share with her the turmoil of emotions sweeping through his head, the moment he realised he'd been foolish to trust the Stranded and in doing so lost a good group of kids. Years previously Aidan had once nagged him till he'd finally snapped and opened up to her. He would give anything to confide in her again. Instead whatever she had gone through with Wilks she had chosen to share it with him only. It killed him that he was losing her.

The problem was Frost didn't blame Wilks, how could you hold the guy responsible, he was only doing his job and protecting the one person he swore to safeguard. Wilks had after all done a damn side better than him.

He glanced up from his weapon to see Wilks leaning against the battered doorframe, arms casually folded watching them both in silence, a look of cautious calculation on his face as he assessed one then the other. Before Frost could summon the courage to snap at him for not obeying a simple order and to mind his own business, Eli appeared from the darkness completely unaware of the tension filled situation and lunged at his sister to grab her into a tight hug.

"Aide!" he cooed into her mass of hair, "You look like a scarecrow."

She pushed him playfully away to send him a look. Unconsciously running a hand through the straggled strands as he grinned back at her tugging at his own blond mop.

"No worries," Wilks commented as he jumped down from the platform onto the rusting railway tracks, his boots sploshing into the gravelly puddles, "The rain will undo most of that."

"Has the razorhail stopped?" Lem asked as he wearily emerged from their darkened room, Angelo in tow.

"We're left with the rain," Wilks trudged slowly down the tracks assessing for danger before he led the group out into the open.

"It's still so dark!" David let out a whine as he squinted out into the darkness around them.

"You'll get used to it,"

The group assembled slowly, making sure that they had their belongings, what were left of them, and their weapons. By the time they made a start along the train tracks, the night sky was starting to lighten. Distant features emerged from the darkness as piece by piece daybreak brought with it an image of the Seran landscape. As dawn peeked wearily at them, blue skies pushing through the purplish darkness, an icy breeze chilled through to the bone reminding them all that the colder weather was upon them.

They continued along the rail track mostly in silence, their footsteps becoming laboured as each step brought them closer to Jacinto. Feet swollen with blisters and bruises made it harder for them to press ahead at any steady speed. By mid afternoon, tempers weary and strained, they stopped for a drink. Drawn to the secure high walls around a cemetery overlooking the rail tracks Wilks set the group up to rest their feet, allowing them to offload their heavy weaponry and bags.

He let them sit safely as he strayed away from them, stepping as lightly as he could around the decaying headstones and long dead tufted grass. He felt an overwhelming sense of peace in this place of final rest. Human remains decayed below them in the dirt oblivious to the monsters that had ripped through their once beautiful existence. His attention drew to an ancient twisted tree, towering high in the centre of the cemetery. Part of the tree decayed like the rest of Sera, its branches withered and dry. The other half of the tree defied nature's restrictions and reached up defiantly into the cold sky. The wind shivered around the tree, tousling a stray leaf from a sweeping branch sending it gliding through the air till it swirled elegantly at Wilks' feet. He gazed absently down at it, allowing himself a moment to search deep inside his soul where he tried to remember such peace and found himself realising that he had never experienced such thoughts before.

He turned to look back at his group, hidden from sight behind the cemetery walls. He could hear their bickering and swearing. Their voices carrying up through the wind getting louder the closer they were to snapping.

"Guys," he called as he returned back to them, "Keep your voices down. We really don't want to alert anything to our presence."

"I'm hungry," Angelo whined, clutching his belly as it let out a loud gurgling growl, "My tummy hurts."

"Shut the fuck up Gelo, we're all hungry," Frost snapped at him.

"Jeez Frost, who woke up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Eli responded sharply back at him, it was enough to remind Frost how much he detested Eli.

"I'd be on the wrong side if there was a wrong side to wake up from," he twisted round to poke Eli hard in the chest, pushing him back a couple of steps.

Eli predictably rose to the bait, "Don't you fucking touch me like that."

"I'll touch you if I like," Frost relished the opportunity to lash out and finally release the pent up anger he was harbouring. Every part of him told his brain to shut up but there was a tiny niggle somewhere that made him want to push, "you and your whore of a sister think you're both so big, well you're not. I should have just knocked that bitch up when I had a chance, that would have put her in her place."

Frost sent Aidan a lecherous smile. It was enough for the sleep deprived, hungry, aggravated Eli to fly uncontrollably off the handle. He swung out clenched fist first at Frost's nose. He heard the crisp crunch as bone and cartilage cracked at the impact. Frost's head snapped back at the force as his face took the blow. For a moment he was stunned at the outburst. He had never pegged Eli capable of such a response, and at the same time his primal instinct kicked in. His forehead flung back and he landed a monumental headbutt on Eli's brow as he spat a mixture of bloodied spittle at his face.

Eli swore as he lunged out at Frost. Fists balled as he swung wildly and ploughed him to the ground until they were a tangled mess of blood and limbs.

"For fuck sake!" Wilks cursed as he bodily prised himself between the two, heavy hands pushing them apart, "What the hell is wrong with you both."

"He started it, didn't you hear what he said," Eli chimed.

Frost lashed out again ready to catch Eli unaware, this time Wilks stepped between them and took the full force of Frost's fist against his chin.

Frost leapt back in shock and prepared himself for the situation to fly further out of hand as Wilks' eyes darkened in anger as he placed a hand on his chin. He clenched his teeth and steeled himself to receive the full impact from the soldier's fist. On not receiving any pounding blow he opened one eye to see Wilks glaring menacingly back at him.

"This is ridiculous," he thundered, "You aren't children anymore. I expected more from the both of you."

Wilks stepped away from the pair clenching and unclenching his fists. At that moment Frost had never felt smaller. He felt ashamed that the Corporal was proving to be the better man, even when the cracks were showing the soldier had gone without sleep to protect them each night and was still able to control his temper. He dropped his head in shame not yet ready to offer an apology to Eli and plodded away from his family, wondering what had happened to turn him into the monster he was becoming.


	25. Chapter 24: A Rude Awakening

**Chapter Twenty Four - A Rude Awakening**

* * *

><p>A rumble stirred under Lem's feet. For a moment he mistook it as his empty stomach reminding him to fill it until he glanced over at Angelo who stared at the ground in apprehension. They had been through enough to understand what the vibrations under their feet meant. So far they had managed to pass under the radar of the Locust, taking the back entrance into the Jacinto. But their appearance seemed to be more frequent the closer they approached the city. It was only a matter of time until the Locust discovered them.<p>

"Umm... Wilks," he quietly uttered, "We've got company."

Wilks nodded quickly, his mind switching to ensuring their safety. Picking up his Lancer from the pile of weapons, he signalled for the group to hide. He manoeuvred himself quietly along the tombstones to identify the enemy along the far end of the cemetery wall.

The small troop of Locust had picked up the scent of human. A couple of Wretches hurled themselves along the train lines as they tried to track their prey. A lumbering Mauler swung its flail precariously as it heavily plodded alongside a few Grenadiers. Behind them a tall slender Monk like creature observed the whole thing. Heavy robes hung around it and clung to its long limbs as it moved with a sleek litheness that the other Locust lacked. Wilks had been aware that the Locust had been tracking them for a short while now, but had opted to omit this knowledge from the others. The last thing they needed was the knowledge of being pursued. It was this reason that he had chosen to remain on night duties and had pushed the group ahead so far. He hadn't expected the Locust to catch up with them so quickly.

One thing he knew for certain, he couldn't defeat them all on his own. He was going to need the help of the others, despite how tired, irritated or hungry they were.

He returned to them and slipped behind a headstone to address the group who had positioned themselves along the wall.

"We've got Locust tracking us," he admitted, "Look I know we're all tired and our ammunition is limited, but we have to keep the Locust from breathing down our necks."

"What do you want us to do Wilks?" Eli asked, cautiously eager to help him. He could hear Frost tutting behind him so he turned and sent him a glare in response.

"Well they haven't sent the runts after us that's for certain," Wilks commented with a jerk of a head towards the incoming Horde, "I'm going to need you all to help me."

"Wh...What?" Angelo stammered as he stepped back nervously. Feeling the familiar clench of his lungs snap tightly inside him, "No I can't."

Before Lem could rush to his aid Wilks stepped between them. He held a hand out to stop him from comforting his friend and approached the other.

"Kid, you've been through a lot and I get that," he placed a hand on Angelo's shoulder, "You've seen monsters that most children do not survive from. But you have to get over that if you are going to tough this out."

"I've got Rustlung," Angelo tried to seek out Lem behind Wilks' back, but the Corporal shifted himself to edge him out.

"I get that you lived in the protection of your Compound and that people are more lenient towards your condition from your home. The truth is the people in Jacinto don't care about what horrors you've lived through because the chances are they've lived through it too."

Angelo stared opened mouthed at Wilks. Until now everyone had treated him with kid gloves, he had always been the kid with the incurable disease. Even the Lieutenant had been hesitant to welcome him into the Compound with open arms without subjecting him to rigorous quarantine beforehand. But now Wilks was treating him with a frankness that he hadn't seen in years. This guy was treating him like an actual person. And it scared him all the more.

He lowered his head and fixed his eyes upon the soldier's boots, "What can I say, I'm nothing more than a coward and I'm sorry if I disappoint you sir."

Wilks let out a sigh, there was no way this kid would be overcoming his fears anytime soon. He would just have to do it without him.

The Locust were drawing ever closer, the looming Monk figure would pause so often to scent the air. Sucking in oxygen through its slit like nostrils and picking out the stench of human. It leapt effortlessly onto the surrounding cemetery wall and let out a howling drone.

The group dropped to the ground to cover their ears, the high pitched screech coming from the Monk seared through their auditory factors.

"What the hell is that thing?" Eli yelled with his hands clamped over his ears.

"It means we've run out of time," Frost responded sharply.

"Weapons at the ready, those who wish to fight, at my call" Wilks ordered, reloading his Lancer and aiming at the Monk from over the top of the tombstone.

Frost, Eli and Aidan spread out across the headstones whilst Lem, Angelo and David kept as far away as possible, keeping themselves hidden from the towering Monk.

Wilks checked his line as his group readied their weapons and he raised a hand to hold them at his order.

"Fire!" he squeezed the trigger and blasted bullets at the Monk.

The creature leapt down behind the cover of the wall and started droning again. From the shadows a mass of Tickers scuttled into view, spreading out amongst the gravestones to assist in protecting the Monk.

"Keep the Tickers back!" Wilks barked, letting bursts of gunfire into the walking mines as they set off explosions as they detonated, "Watch your flanks."

The gunfire had alerted the other Locust, drawn by the chants of the Monk. They sent the wretches over the cemetery walls first to shatter their attention before the Grenadiers burst through the gates with a blast.

Lem let out a cry as a Wretch propelled itself towards his cowering group. He took hold of the two boys by the scruffs of their shirts and dragged them further away from danger. He scrabbled backwards to pick up the weapon he had left on the ground earlier. His finger shuddered on the trigger as he tried to fire the Hammerburst. It let out a sputter of bullets into the muddy earth. The Wretch danced over his attempts as it took a failed swipe at him before turning its efforts on the weaker humans. Angelo and David cowered behind a crumbled gravestone, clinging desperately to each other as the creature scurried towards them. Fear crept through Lem as he tried to hold the heavy weapon higher. He aimed at the Wretch as best as he could, he couldn't let the creature take his friend away from him. The monsters had already destroyed his family. They weren't going to do the same to Angelo. He squeezed the trigger hard this time as the gun spat bullets out into the squirming body of the Wretch. It spasmed and twitched as its carcass drew to a halt at the boys' feet, dead.

Frost and Eli had drawn the Grenadiers' attention, the Locust kept hidden behind the gateway to the cemetery as they cautiously fired back at the humans. The beasts threw a smoke grenade at them, waited till it burst into a puff of blinding smoke and ran towards them. The Grenadier approached with a roar, towering menacingly over them arms held wide apart in triumph until a loud buzzing sounded behind it. It clutched frantically at its chest as a chainsaw blade burst through it. It coughed blood as it blindly tried to look back at its killer but to no avail. Chunks of Locust body dropped to the ground as Wilks emerged from behind it with the chainsaw of his Lancer buzzing menacingly, blood and bits splattered its blades.

"You're welcome," he commented as he shook the weapon, shedding bloodied droplets as he did so.

Ticking started behind them as another wave of time bombs skittered their way into the graveyard. Wilks dropped back as another Ticker detonated nearby. He took a moment to assess the battle taking place around them, for each Ticker they took down the Monk would chant for another wave. If they continued in this fashion they would be overrun and out of ammunition. He realised that they had to take out the Monk before it inundated them with Tickers. But Wilks had hit the Monk with enough bullets to know that the creature was healing itself when it called for a Ticker Diversion. If they were going to get the Monk they would have to get it without it expecting anything. For this he realised he needed a Longshot, and only one person came fully equipped with this expertise. He was initially reluctant to put so much pressure and unnecessary danger on the young teen. But then if he wanted Aidan in his squad she was going to have to prove herself solo.

He indicated to Eli that he was going to drop back to Aidan. The teen nodded briefly as he squeezed the trigger of the Hammerburst at another incoming Ticker.

Wilks kept as low to the ground as he could as he approached Aidan, who was keeping away from the heart of the battle and firing from a distance.

Aidan watched as the soldier took cover beside her, he sent her a look of exasperation.

"Aidan I need your help,"

"Me?" she asked, slightly astonished that she would be of any use to him.

Wilks placed a hand on Aidan and indicated with a nod towards the incoming Horde.

"You see that creature?"

She glanced across at the towering Monk figure behind the looming group and nervously nodded her head.

"I want you to do one thing for me," his voice unfalteringly patient, "I want you to take it out with a headshot. You think you can do that for me?"

"But..."

"You can do it Aidan, I've seen you do it," He reached out and took her hand. She glanced down at his partly gloved fingers in confusion and panic. Her eyes quickly looked searchingly into his own where nothing but complete faith reflected back at her.

"But..."

"Aide, as long as that Monk is still alive we stand little chance in surviving. It will summon more troops before we even manage to control the numbers. We have very little ammo and I need you to help me,"

She nodded slowly, "What do you want me to do?"

"Over there," He indicated to a knotted weathered tree located in the middle of the cemetery, "You'll have a secluded advantage in that tree."

He led her over to the tree and offered to lift her up. Nervously she gripped his hand as he hoisted her effortlessly onto his shoulder, his biceps twitched slightly as he placed a gentle hand under her thigh to propel her up unto the branches. He watched as she wriggled further up the twisted trunk and unhooked her Longshot from her back, she then signalled him thumbs up. He nodded in return, his eyes not leaving hers till Eli's voice called him back to the chanting drone of the Monk. He unhooked his Lancer and took cover beneath a headstone beside Eli.

"They just keep on coming," Eli reported breathlessly as he fired blasts into another Ticker, "We've got the other Grenadier sorted but I don't think we have an answer for the Mauler."

"Okay, just keep out of reach of its flail. The thing about Maulers is they are stupendously slow and cumbersome when they are at a distance, you just need to get behind the buggers."

"What do you suggest?" Frost asked as he dropped back behind the same tombstone as Wilks.

"I need a diversion, you think you could help me with that Frost?"

Frost sent Eli a look of surprise that the soldier would even rely on him for his help, considering his previous attitude. He looked reluctantly back at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Do I have a reason not to trust you?" Wilks asked simply. Stopping momentarily at the nearby sound of ticking. He turned and fired out of cover causing a blast of an exploding Ticker nearby.

"Of course you don't sir," he responded, "What do you need me to do?"

Wilks thoughtfully considered his actions, "Tell you what. The Mauler is yours. I'll play toe tag with it, get it to come charging towards me. You need to come up behind it and plant this beauty."

He withdrew a grenade from his belt, "This is my last one, please calculate your motions carefully. We can't afford to waste this."

Wilks then turned to Eli, "I need you to watch our backs and most importantly, keep the Locust away from that tree. Your sister is our ticket to ending this."

* * *

><p>Aidan adjusted herself midst the foliage of the tree, trying to keep hidden from the battle below her. She let out a heavy breath as she drew her eye to the sights on the Longshot. The magnifier forced the image closer to her so she could pick out a detailed view of the Monk that chanted for more forces. Her ears rang and her heart thundered in her chest. Would she be able to take out the Locust alone without Wilks' tutoring? She hoped she was capable.<p>

* * *

><p>Lem had managed to keep the Tickers away from Angelo so far. As long as the bigger Locust focussed their attention on the three who were capable of fighting them, he knew he could keep the little ones at bay. Angelo watched him quietly, not daring to make a sound to attract another Ticker as they spread out ticking behind gravestones to catch unsuspecting prey.<p>

Lem had forgotten about David. Who had decided that he was better off protecting himself in this vast free-for-all. He had watched when the Gear had hoisted Aidan up into the tree. Typical that the soldier was only thinking of his own carnal interests rather than the safety of the group, he sneered to himself. So opting to look out for himself David ran over towards the tree and started to climb it.

As the boy clumsily climbed the tree, a Wretch skittered unnoticed behind him, following him up the branches with a hiss of joy.

* * *

><p>The Mauler charged angrily towards Wilks once more as the Gear dove expertly out of the way, steering the beast out of its protective zone and into his hands. Out of the years he had fought Maulers and Butchers he had never gone wrong with the old diversionary tact. The creatures were so useless at such a long range that he might as well have sat and drank tea whilst it lumbered towards him. Granted the shield was the one thing that had been a snag when he first encountered them. He had since learnt that Mauler toes did not like to be shot at however, who'da thought.<p>

Aware of his increasing lack of bullets, he started to pick up little rocks to throw at it instead. All he needed to do was to piss the thing off long enough to get Frost to plant the Grenade.

The Mauler, once realising that Wilks had opted to save bullets, sheathed its shield and started to charge at the Gear, its flail swinging wildly.

"You bugger," Wilks muttered, holstering his Lancer on its sling and pulling out his Gnasher Shotgun instead, "Come to papa."

He let the Mauler run close enough to him to be in range before he fired a point blank shot at its head. The spit of pellets reflected off the flail enough to force the beast to bring the shield out again.

At this point Frost had closed up on it, close enough to plant the Grenade on its back.

The Mauler thrashed out briefly as the flail struck Frost, throwing him to the ground. Wilks counted to five under his breath as he sprinted to Frost to drag him away from the doomed beast. He leaned protectively over him as the Grenade detonated and sent pieces of bloodied Locust across the cemetery.

Wilks took a few moments to come to, crouched protectively over Frost, his body ached in protest. That was the thing about Maulers, when they Boomed they Boomed with impact. He felt his back burn as he stretched out pealing himself off Frost's crumpled form he turned to assess the consequences of his actions. Bits of Mauler splattered around them, and blood, lots of blood. He patted himself down briefly to check any new injuries, but there were only existing aches and pains. He then turned his attention to Frost, who was slowly stirring back into consciousness.

"You okay Frost?"

He groaned in response, slowly straightening himself up, he felt a sharp stabbing pain under his arm. He clutched at his side and withdrew himself from Wilks' offer of assistance.

"Frost?" Wilks frowned, aware that something was wrong.

"I'm fine," Washington turned away from him as he attempted to stand up, "Mauler caught me with its flail."

"Shit, let me look at you," the soldier offered.

"I'm fine Wilks, just leave it alone will you." He snapped, struggling to his feet to wrench himself away.

As he placed one foot firmly on the ground he felt the pain sear up inside him, like a cold stabbing surge of inviting death ebbing through his veins. He toppled to the ground close enough for Wilks to catch him.

"Now will you let me look at it?"

"It's nothing,"

"If it's nothing then why are you in so much pain," Wilks responded, "Please Frost when will you learn that I am not the enemy."

Frost fuzzily fixed his sight on the soldier, what had happened for him to distrust the man so much? There had once been a time that he had oozed with confidence and relished the opportunity of working with an experienced soldier as Wilks. They had been out of the Compound for over a week and already he had held a dying friend in his arms and risked losing the one girl he had ever cared for. How was it possible to feel this useless in such a short space of time? Was this what it was all about, struggling through the nothingness to find any kind of meaning in life? What was the point of surviving past the Compound in that case? Deciding that he wasn't going to succumb to the darkness just yet he reluctantly shifted himself to reveal his injury to Wilks.

* * *

><p>Aidan slowly ran through the breathing exercises she had been taught not so long ago. Already she was beginning to feel like a failure after firing two shots that had completely missed the Monk Locust altogether. Her heart thundered up inside her throat, dancing the rumba to throw her off guard. She was rapidly running out of ammunition for her precious Longshot, she had to make every bullet count.<p>

The creature was swerving, ducking and diving, making it increasingly harder for her to even clip it with a round. She had noticed however that the only time that it actually stopped long enough for her to take a shot was when it let out its ear shattering howl of a chant. However each time it did that her ears risked bursting.

She gently rocked back on herself on the branch and dug around her pockets to find something to cover her ears. One ripped bloodied sleeve had been shoved into her jeans pocket, she eyed it up suspiciously and attempted to rip the fabric in half. It let out a satisfying tearing sound and she stuffed each piece into her ears.

It felt surreal, everything around her suddenly became muted and muffled. She cast her eyes down on the ground below her, she could see the fighting but she couldn't hear it. This was perfect. Now she could finally concentrate on the Monk.

Settling back down amongst the branches she steadied her breathing. She followed every move the creature made through the lens of her Longshot, moving wherever it went, preparing herself for when the Monk started to chant again. This time she would be ready.

Behind her she was completely oblivious to David who was scaling his way through the tree and behind him a Wretch followed hungrily.

* * *

><p>Wilks' expression darkened as he examined Frost's wound. He wasn't doing a good job at hiding his concern. He dug frantically through his medical pouch to find something to stop the bleeding. Pulling out reams of dressings and holding them out to attempt some kind of patch up.<p>

"Remove your hand a moment Frost," he ordered, "I have to see what kind of pressure I need to be putting on it."

"Quite a lot for the pain to go away." Reluctantly he removed his hand, gazing back at his own blood lacing his fingers in stupefied numbness.

For a moment he attempted to seek out some kind of reassurance from Wilks, but the soldier's vision was fixed on his wound. His brow furrowed, eyes filled with doleful concern as he attempted his patch up. He knew this injury was a lot worse than Wilks was letting on. How close was he to dying in Wilks' arms like the teenager he had held not so long ago.

"I'm not ready to die yet Wilks," he breathed in panic. Sensing a lump in his throat forcing tears to his eyes and a wobble in his stomach.

Wilks paused a moment before glancing up from his work to fix his dark eyes on Frost. A sad smile washed over him as he placed a gentle hand on his arm in encouragement.

"I'm glad, because I'm not ready to lose anyone else," Wilks' slightly accented voice a throaty purr.

"Please don't lie to me if you think I'm beyond help,"

"Sounds like you're ready to give up on me,"

"It hurts so much, sir,"

Wilks glanced back down at Frost's side, deliberating on his answer before opting on brutal honesty.

"A shard of flail has embedded itself in your side. I'm not going to attempt to pull it out because I fear it will cause you to bleed out and that is beyond my medical capabilities. So I am going to bandage you up as best as I can until we can get you to Jacinto where they can fix you."

"How long before we get to Jacinto?"

"I can't say for sure, but no longer than a week,"

Frost nodded thoughtfully, his mind fixated on the shard buried in his body and the poisonous toxins that were now flowing freely into his blood. He now knew that any option available to Wilks resulted in his eventual death, be it sooner or later.

"How long before the poison takes effect?"

Wilks faltered, realising that Frost was now entirely aware of his predicament.

"I can't know what sort of contagion they laced the flail with so I can only assume the worst,"

"How long?" Frost prompted, feeling the lump in his throat constrict his body from doing anything else.

"Two, three days tops,"

"So the chances are I'm going to be dead before we get to Jacinto,"

"We don't know that," Wilks' tone sounded forced, he was fed up of having good people taken from him.

Frost roughly grabbed Wilks' arm and stared at him, pulling him closer.

"She must never know," he hissed.

Wilks frowned back at him, the soldier who still had so much more to learn about the lessons of the heart, "But..."

"You need to promise me that you'll protect her with your life,"

"You don't even need to ask," he responded, "but I'm not ready to let you go yet. There's a chance that we're close enough to a COG patrol that they'll pick up on the gunfire."

"Our Compound dropped into a pit, a Compound controlled by the COG and still no one saw fit to send a search party for survivors. We've been walking for weeks on an obvious route into Jacinto and still no one has seen us. I think it's safe to say that I'm going to die before we find any help."

"Don't give up on me yet," Wilks huskily uttered.

"I never did..."

He opened his mouth to continue as Eli scurried towards them, planting himself beside them, weapon slung over one shoulder. He let out a low whistle.

"Man did that Mauler go splat!" He exclaimed, completely oblivious to the exchange between Frost and Wilks. He then fixed his gaze on the pair with Frost still clinging onto Wilks' wrist. "Wash, you hurt?"

Frost sent Wilks a tiny shake of the head, glaring back at him before responding, "Just grazed by the Mauler's flail that's all."

Even with Frost's brusque response Eli instantly picked up on something not quite right.

"Shit Wash don't they lace them with poison?"

Frost had almost forgotten that Eli was blessed with an infuriating sense of knowledge of all things Locust thanks to Lem. Unlike everyone else, Eli was the only one who seemed to remember it all.

"I'll be fine Eli, Wilks says I'm going to be fine,"

Wilks sent Frost a look of foreboding anger at being included in his blatant lie. He did not want to be involved in deceiving the people who loved him. Instead he placed a hand around Frost and supported him to his feet, whispering in his ear as he helped him find cover.

"I can't lie to them like you can,"

"You don't have to," he breathed back, trying to limit how much he clutched his side in front of Eli, "Just give me a gun and let me go down fighting."

* * *

><p>The Monk flung its head back to let out another howling chant, sending out a flurry of Tickers towards the group trapped in the graveyard. Its lizardesque tongue arched and trilled as it droned another ear splitting tune.<p>

This time Aidan was ready. Her heart slowed in tune with her steadied breathing. The cross hairs matched up bang on target. She gently squeezed the trigger feeling the bullet bite back as it spiralled out of its chamber bursting forth. She watched as it hit its destination, its brain splattered with a loud satisfying squelch and its skull cracked apart like it was nothing but putty.

And the droning ceased.

She let out a laugh of satisfaction totally deaf to the events happening behind her.

She shuffled backwards slightly so she could turn to position herself to climb down the tree. Instead she turned to face David, his face pink and flustered. She pulled the fabric from her ears.

"What the..." she exclaimed.

David let out a scream in her face as he pushed her, clambering over her body to scale the tree. Leaving her to confront an angry Wretch. It hissed, raising a claw and swiping at her. She gasped as she tried to shuffle backwards along the branch, feeling it weaken under their combined weight. She looked up and assessed her only choice would be to go upwards. She drew an unsteady foot under her to propel her to the branch above. Grasping a hand onto one branch she made an attempt to pull herself up.

The Wretch leapt at her, clamping its jaws around her foot.

She let out a strangled cry and kicked out at it with both feet even as it sank its barbed teeth into her ankle. Still she tried to pull herself onto the branch, but without her legs to help her she was left dangling helplessly on the branch. She looked around to catch sight of David who was now clinging to the trunk of the tree watching her.

"Please," she cried out to him, "Help me."

She kicked out again with the Wretch swinging from her ankle, its claws clamping itself into her calves ready to heave her off the branch. Agony surged through her and she choked out a whimper. An unwelcomed tear rolled down her cheek.

"David, please," she begged, feeling her grip on the branch weaken, "please help me."

The boy just stared at her emotionless as he just watched her like she was nothing but entertainment. For a moment her hopes lifted as he shifted towards her. But instead he gazed down at the Wretch gripping onto her leg and started to make his way back down the tree.

"No!" she screamed this time, "No, no, no. Kid you can't do this to me. Help please!"

The tears were flowing freely this time as she felt hope slipping from her. She fought back the searing agony that twinged up her leg and tried to figure a way to help herself. She needed something to beat the Wretch off her, even if it meant taking her leg with it. Anything was better than helplessly being consumed alive. Her brain flicked to her Longshot slung over her shoulder, which would mean letting one hand go of the branch. Something she wasn't entirely keen on. But it was her only choice. Reluctantly she slipped one hand off the branch and tried to reach for her Longshot. Her fingers teased over the rim of the barrel trying to get a secure grip. She felt the sling slip over her shoulder and down her arm before she could even do anything to stop it. Her Longshot tumbled to the ground pitifully.

"No!" she shrieked, gazing down at her stricken weapon on the ground which seemed a towering distance away from her.

Her fingers slipped a little on the branch, terror filled her with sickness as the Wretch adjusted its torturous hold on her.

Then her brain reminded her of the Gorgon Pistol holstered around her waist. She would be able to reach it, but if she fired it the recoil alone would most certainly knock her out of the tree. As the Wretch squeezed its claw into her calf muscles sending a spasm up her leg, she knew she had no other option.

She placed a firm hand on the handle of the weapon and gently tried to retrieve it as the Wretch started to twist and turn in the air attempting to tear her or her leg from the tree. She held the gun down towards her leg and the Wretch and fired.

Somewhere in the distance she could hear Wilks screaming her name.

Her fingers lost their grip on the branch and she felt herself fall. Both her and the Wretch hit the branches as they tumbled to the ground.

She blacked out before the pain could take over any further.

* * *

><p>The screams alerted Wilks as he was busy taking out the remnants of the Tickers. Helpless to do anything he could see Aidan tumble to the ground almost an eternity away from him. He bellowed out her name and sprinted towards the tree before he was even aware he was doing it. He drew out his Gnasher and blasted the pellets straight into the wounded Wretch as it attempted a final lunge at Aidan to finish her off. He kicked the carcass away as he picked up Aidan's unconscious body and carried her from the tree.<p>

Eli called to him from behind cover, still firing at the Tickers. He stopped, scowled at him and roared a response.

"Kill every last fucker!"

A storm brewed inside him as he carried Aidan to safety, placing her gently on a fallen tomb stone. He ran a gentle hand across her forehead, teasing a bloodied strand of hair behind her ear. Carefully he guided his fingers over her to pick out her injuries. Her shoulder was dislocated, her body bloodied and battered with countless internal injuries, her leg and ankle a chewed mess. This was more than he could fix alone. So far from any assistance and he was going to lose the one he cared for the most.

He felt the pit of his stomach churn as he gripped his hands fisted together in prayer, closing his eyes begging to the Allfathers.

"Not again, please, not again," he whimpered, "Help me."

She let out a light groan at his voice and her only good hand reached out to him. She tried to mouth his name but her lips were bloodied and dried. He opened his eyes and sadly gazed back at her before offering his canteen to allow her to drink.

"Hi," he softly uttered, stroking his fingers against her cheek as she drank, "I said you could do it."

She let out a pained breath as a tear tumbled down her cheek and she spluttered a mixture of bloody water, "I'm sorry."

"No, don't you be sorry," he told her, fighting back his own tears, "You saved us."

"I didn't see the Wretch, I'm so stupid," she tried to move her other arm but instead let out a cry of pain. Glancing back at him in hope that he could tell her what was wrong. "It hurts so much." She wobbled a whisper, gripping her fingers around his thumb.

"You're hurt bad, Aide, I'm so sorry and I'm going to have to hurt you even more to help you,"

"Do it," Her icy blue eyes fixed his without hesitation, "I'm ready."

He felt a sickness well up inside him as he gripped her arm, her eyes resolutely not leaving his. He pushed her arm up against her and heard the bones pop back loudly in place. She screamed in agony writhing up against him and grasping him tightly with her good arm. Tears forced themselves out of her eyes and she felt a surge of nausea rise inside her. She doubled over and vomited up the acid inside. Her body juddered in retort to her motions and she felt herself sway slightly. It wasn't until she felt Wilks hold onto her that she realised that he was still very much beside her.

She could see the anger in his countenance as he wrapped her arm in a sling, gently and firmly supporting her broken body. His brow furrowed as he worked. He ripped the fabric of her jeans to assess the Wretch's handiwork. Rolling the fabric up to her knee he washed away her blood with water from his canteen. Each careful brush against her injuries almost as if he was scared he was going to break her further. Despite the gentle attention she could see the pain in his eyes and the temper that was building inside him. He dressed her wound with the last of his bandages and partially rolling the denim fabric back over her leg to protect it as much as possible.

He then leaned down towards her and spoke with an anger that scared her, "Where did the kid go?"

"Olly," she breathed his name for the first time with so much affection, "Please."

"I saw what he did,"

He rose to his feet to search the graveyard for David, locating him swinging Aidan's Longshot around as if the encounter with the Wretch hadn't happened. He let out a throaty growl as a temper brewed to a head inside him; the secrets, the lies, the emotions that had overcome him throughout this entire journey. But nothing paled in comparison to the betrayal he felt at this kid's cowardice.

"Wilks Stop!" Aidan pleaded.

He strode with long determined strides towards the tree, pulling out the Gnasher from its holster and slotting two rounds into the chamber. A storm raged inside him. The darkness swirled in thunderstorms inside his irises as he took his steps toward the boy's doom. He could hear the shouts and cries from the other members of the group as they sprinted to stop him but this did nothing to distract him. David poked at the Wretch's body with the barrel of the Longshot, totally unaware of the approaching soldier.

The others came too late as Wilks' huge fisted hands gripped heavily over David's throat as he slammed him hard against the trunk of the tree and up beyond the reach of the boy's toes. David struggled for any kind of purchase to save himself and finding none. His terrified eyes screamed back at him, trying to seek out any emotion inside Wilks' being but found nothing but vengeance and anger.

Wilks snarled at him, his huge arching scar throbbed white with violence and hatred. He leaned close and spat at the boy as he spoke.

"You feel that sickening sense of fear surge inside you as you struggle to find anything to save you? Yeah?"

David's eyes widened in understanding as he whimpered a choked response.

"She felt exactly the same way when you ignored her pleas for help,"

He lifted the Gnasher and held it to David's head, pressing the barrel against his forehead. Eli and Lem let out cries in horror and made to step forward to stop him. Wilks swung the Gnasher in their direction.

"Any of you make any attempt to stop me I will shoot you," he growled, "The penalty of being a coward and a traitor by law of the COG is death."

The barrel pressed against David's forehead again and a vast trickle of yellow liquid made its way down the boy's legs and pooled on the ground below him.

"You feel the horror of certain death?"

The kid nodded.

"She felt the same way when you did nothing except watch her struggle to save her own life,"

He heard the click as he pulled the trigger, the girlish screams of the boy as he braced himself for the bullet. A brown ooze dribbled down David's legs. The group all prepared themselves to see the kid's body drop lifeless to the floor. Only to see Wilks drop his gun to his side.

"Lucky for you I keep my safety on," he seethed at David, "Unlike you I am aware of the consequences of my actions. And unlike her you experienced mercy."

He dropped the kid to the ground in a puddle of his own fluids, leaving him coughing, spluttering and vomiting all over himself.

"From this moment on understand that I don't keep you alive because I want to, you are alive because I choose to make an example of you. Live the rest of your pathetic life with the knowledge that you owe it to me and because there has been enough death."

David nodded, sitting pitifully in a pool of his own mess, "Yes sir."

"Now clean yourself up," he spat.

Wilks turned to the rest of the group. They stared in astonishment at the darkness that had bubbled up inside this battle weary soldier. Now aware of the lengths he would take to protect the ones he cared for.

"We are a team. We do not betray one another. We are to protect each other like the family you are. I am responsible to get every last one of you to Jacinto," he aimed the last part at Frost, "And I will do everything in my power to bloody well get you all home."


	26. Chapter 25: To the Next Life

**Chapter Twenty Five – To the Next Life**

* * *

><p>Ollyvar Wilks' mood did not lift. In fact he kept himself as far away from the group as emotionally possible. He was fed up of trusting a group of liars and cowards. Granted a few were decent people, which made him feel worse for being so angry. But every time it would come back to Frost lying straight-faced to Eli and David leaving Aidan to die as she begged for help. He just wanted to be back at Jacinto where he could get rid of the lot of them for good. All except Aidan.<p>

He couldn't even explain the madness that had overcome him when he'd seen her hurt. It was almost as if his own violent father had taken over his body. He didn't think he was even capable of holding a weapon to a kid's head. Yet he'd even pulled the trigger to the safety point. There was a monster lurking inside him and he was scared what this was turning him into. What happened to the idiot soldier that had given his life in place of a dead child back at the Compound so many days ago? Everything he had encountered was turning him into an emotionless chunk of flesh. Not so unlike his father after all.

One thing was certain he wasn't going to stop until he found help.

The group shuffled and stumbled slowly around him, Frost the only one amongst them with a reason to press ahead. He pushed forward refusing to rest for fear of the toxins now invading his body.

Eli had watched the careful attention Wilks had given his twin sister to a point that Wilks feared that he might suspect something was going on between the two. So Wilks had stepped back to allow Eli to look after Aidan the rest of the way. She hobbled along with her twin, using him as a support, dropping to the back of the group to go at Aidan's pace. A pace that was too slow for Frost as he now charged an increasing distance in front of them all.

Lem and Angelo walked quietly somewhere in the middle of the group with David dragging his heels every so often beside them. But each time the boy made to make a tired complaint Wilks would fix him with a stare that would incite fear into them all and he would scurry onwards.

Aidan landed awkwardly on her injured ankle and stumbled to the ground. She let out a grunt as she painfully and wordlessly attempted to hoist herself to her feet using her one good arm and leg. Eli wrapped an arm around her to support her. Glancing up at the group he could see that they had pressed on without them.

"This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed loud enough to alert Wilks' attention. He stopped in his steps and turned to stare blankly back at them.

Wilks had kept himself close to the back of the group for a reason, so he could keep an eye on the stragglers and watch David at the same time. He waited until the twins drew level with him.

"You can't expect us to keep going at this pace. Aidan's injury will only get worse if we keep her on her feet without allowing her to rest like this."

"It's okay, I'm fine," Aidan quietly interjected, trying to send her brother a look of warning. She looked back at Wilks, the only person she had been truly honest, and sent him a guarded smile.

"We are not going to stop for reasons I am not at liberty to explain," Wilks responded.

"You can't just keep her walking Wilks!" Eli gave him a look that was so much like his sister it scared him a bit, he had almost forgotten that they were twins. "What the hell, she fell out of a fucking tree!"

"Please stop it Eli," she gripped her brother's wrist with her good hand but he was as stubborn as she was.

"You're the leader Wilks, she's your responsibility as well,"

The others had stopped now to watch the commotion, except Frost who was still charging ahead down the railway line shut out to the world around him.

"I'm no one's responsibility!" she snapped finally at her brother. Releasing her grip off him and attempting to take a couple of steps forward without his assistance. As she placed her full weight on her damaged ankle she felt a surge of pain as her leg buckled and her body followed suit. Wilks caught her before she went down.

"You _are_ my responsibility," he told her softly.

"Please let me walk," she begged him.

"We both know that's not going to happen," he then bent down and scooped her up in his arms.

"This is stupid, I'm not useless,"

"Hey don't think I'm carrying you all the way into Jacinto, I'm trying to ensure you rest a little without actually stopping,"

Eli, now satisfied that his sister was in good hands, marched ahead to catch up with the others. Aidan watched them all uncomfortably in Wilks' arms waited until they were all mostly out of earshot to talk to him.

"This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. You wouldn't be doing this if I was a boy,"

He half smiled, "it would be odd yes."

"You still want me in your squad even after all this?"

Wilks took a while to answer, which made Aidan fear he might be on the verge of rescinding his offer.

"You hit the Monk didn't you?"

"But I fell out of a tree and have too many injuries to count on both hands,"

"Now if I couldn't take the bad with the good what kind of Leader would that make me?"

"A ruthless one?"

"I'll introduce you to Tate one of these days, he's no older than you or I but he's got himself shot or injured more times than I can count." He caught her eye as he continued, "What does scare me is the response you get out of me when I see you hurt. It's definitely a response I've never seen in myself before and I don't particularly like it."

"So you don't want me in your squad because I can turn you into a monster?" She asked, completely misreading him.

He let out a breathy laugh and blushed slightly, "No, I think it has more to do with my feelings for you. But that is something I need to work through myself. My offer still stands to you Aidan. I still want you in my squad."

* * *

><p>Something buzzed in the distance, swooping and diving, something black. Something hopeful.<p>

Frost stopped in his steps, excitement blossomed inside him. Could his luck have finally changed? He waved his arms frantically trying to catch the attention of the incoming vessel. His hopes overpowering the searing pain in his side.

"Guys look!" he called, "A Raven, we're saved!"

Wilks watched the approaching vessel with caution as Frost leapt and hollered in the direction of the approaching black blob.

"Something's not right,"

"What do you mean?" Aidan asked him, "You don't think it's a Raven?"

"Aide, the one thing I've learnt after all these years. It's never a Raven."

He carried her over to a crumbled wall and set her down, "Keep your head down."

She nodded obediently and dropped close to the ground as Wilks sprinted to Frost, shouting to the others.

"Get down now!"

The black blob approached closer and Wilks' fears came to life.

"Frost into cover now!" He grabbed hold of the teenager's shirt and thrust him bodily down the bank into cover just as a missile exploded where Frost had once been standing.

"What the?.."

A Reaver flew into view and landed silently nearby letting out a hiss of glee as it tried to track down its intended target.

"It's always a Reaver," Wilks cursed to himself.

"Maybe a Raven is pursuing it?" Frost asked rubbing his side in discomfort.

"Sorry to dash your hopes bud but not every Reaver has a Raven entourage. Out of some awful luck we have so far managed to avoid any kind of COG patrol and this will be another wonderful example of how our luck has gone."

"So what's your plan?"

Wilks faltered, he was out of ideas.

"Well we're extremely low on ammunition and the majority of you are too injured to fight. I'm drawing blanks here,"

"I'm not going to die out here Wilks, we need a plan,"

"I know I know."

"The Reaver is coming from Jacinto direction, surely it's bound to be chased by a Raven. And if it is being pursued then they're bound to stop to assist us if we engage the Reaver,"

"The way our luck is going I wouldn't put it past them to keep on flying and wave as they go by,"

"Well we could attract their attention,"

"How, pray tell. Aside from jumping up and down waving our arms, which arguably will put us in more danger with the Reaver, what else is there?"

"For a Squad Leader you really aren't helping,"

"I'm at the bottom of my idea barrel for the foreseeable future."

"Look your armour has obvious indicators on them, maybe if you draw the Reaver's attention the Raven would stop for a Gear?"

"Let me get this straight a moment. You want to use me as bait?" He gave Frost a look of disbelief.

"Well no offence Corporal but you've been going on and on about how you're responsible for all of us. Why don't you step up to the plate for once?"

"Excuse me?" Wilks couldn't hide the sharpness in the tone of his voice.

"Well as you said we're low on ammo and most of us are either too badly wounded to fight or too afraid. If you want us to get to Jacinto maybe YOU need to do something about it."

Frost's words hit Wilks deeper than he would have liked. In his eyes he had gone above and beyond to protect these youngsters and look at the thank you he had in response. Maybe it was time for him to show that he was a capable leader and could do a lot more than boss people around and shoot at stuff. He was willing to lay his life on the line for them also.

He let out a tired breath.

"Fine."

As he contemplated his next steps he turned to the teen, "I'm only doing it if there's a Raven. Otherwise I'm just offering a free meal to the Reaver."

"So what, we let the Reaver take pot shots at us until we know for certain that there's a Raven?"

"Sounds about right."

"I don't know what she sees in you," Frost muttered.

"Me either," Wilks sharply responded, "But with any luck I'll be dead from this escapade soon and you can scoop her up in your arms."

Before Frost could respond Wilks left him to head towards Eli. He had planted himself close to his sister to keep an eye on her whilst watching for the Reaver at the same time.

"Please tell me you have a plan," Eli uttered between grit teeth as Wilks dropped beside him just out of Aidan's earshot.

"Well Frost's plan consists of me feeding myself to a Reaver, and I'm seriously considering it as the best offer on the table."

"I'm hoping that you're kidding because now isn't the best time for jokes."

Wilks let out a heavy breath, "I'm tired Eli and I'm running out of options. I'm the only soldier and I'm the best diversion tactic here until any kind of help arrives."

"So you're seriously considering on going out there with what I'm guessing is your last round of ammo in your Lancer?"

"Do you see any other option?"

"Use me for Frig's sake." Eli interjected angrily, "You made these promises to my sister and I expect you to keep them."

"No way. I'm not risking another life foolishly for damn bravado heroism. If I die she loses just another soldier, if you die she loses her twin brother. That is not happening on my watch."

"Use me Wilks, c'mon you know you can't possibly do this alone."

Wilks sat back and contemplated his next steps before deciding on the best course of action. Eventually he turned back to Eli.

"I have the armour so I go out and face the Reaver..."

"But..."

"Listen to me, I will be facing the Reaver alone. Your job is to make sure that if anything COG comes our way do anything to create attention," He offered a hand out to Eli, "It's been good knowing you kid."

Wilks shuffled over to Aidan who had been doing her best to listen in on the conversation.

"What's happening, I hate feeling so helpless."

"The good news is we're going to get you out of here," He announced as he fiddled with something around his neck.

"And the bad news?" she asked, the bruising on her face starting to show up now.

"I'm very likely not going to be with you."

"Wait, What?" Panic flashed in her eyes as she glanced over at her brother for reassurance, but the same miserable look flicked back to her.

"I promised I would do anything to get you to safety and I'm down to my last option now. Look I know I made a deal with you and if anything happens to me I can't assure your safety, so I'm hoping this will go a long way to insuring that you remain safe."

He took hold of her hands and placed his cog tags into her open palms, she could read two different names on the two cogs; Wilks' father and Wilks.

"My tags will go a way to making sure that you don't get shipped off to some farm," he said softly to her, "My father had some pull as a Colonel so his name alone should keep you protected."

"I'm not taking your tags Wilks," she pushed them back, but he only pressed her fingers around the cold metal tags.

She looked back at him his dark thunderous irises flashed back at her as his lips curved up in a slight caring smile.

"I'm not letting you go Wilks, not yet."

"I'm afraid you're going to have to." Wilks took a moment to deliberate his next move.

Knowing that his moment would be gone in a split second he ran a gentle hand through her hair pulling her towards him to gauge her response. He touched his lips to hers ever so slightly. A sudden surge of sparks burst through them as she leant in and kissed him back.

He parted from her, sending her a husky smile before straightening up. He saluted her.

"If I never see you again Aidan, have a good one. Here's to the next life." Before his common sense got the better of him he sprinted towards the Reaver with his Lancer drawn.

* * *

><p>Wilks dropped behind a wall of a decayed building trying to block out Aidan's cries from his mind. He kept the Reaver in his sight as he slid out the cartridge from his Lancer unclicking the final five bullets into his palm. He rolled them between his fingers as he watched the skies.<p>

"C'mon luck go my way for once," he muttered as he clicked each precious bullet into the magazine.

He rubbed his sleeve against the flickering blue indicators on his uniform and for the first time in his life he closed his eyes to pray.

* * *

><p>Aidan struggled against her brother as she watched Wilks depart to his doom.<p>

"What are you doing? We can't leave him to deal with this alone," She cried out.

"But he said..."

"Fuck what he said, he's an idiot," She responded sharply.

She turned to Lem, who had been cowering nearby with David and Angelo.

"Lem, we need you now. Bring your weapons." She ordered, "Frost..."

"Bugger off," Washington snapped back at her, his back deliberately facing her as he gazed longingly towards the direction of Jacinto.

"I don't believe it," she muttered as she awkwardly crawled towards him, purposely stopping half way, "Frost you get your ass here. You got us in this mess; you can help get us out of it."

"Why should I bother, your boyfriend is doing such a fine job on his own,"

"And he's going to get himself killed in doing so," she glanced back at her twin brother who had rallied the others to him and was sorting through what pitiful weaponry was left. "We've been through so much together, shouldn't we at least keep fighting together."

"And look where it's gotten us Aide," for the first time in a while he turned to face her. She could see that something was wrong with him, his face looked pale and withdrawn and a lot of his spark and ambition seemed to have fizzled from him. "We've lost so many of our friends, kids we grew up with. Mike died in my arms for fuck sake Aida. And we nearly lost you. Tell me now why I shouldn't just keep walking right now?"

"Because you owe him so much more than that,"

"Trust me I don't," he quickly snapped.

She pressed a hand to Wilks' cog tags around her neck momentarily, "ok so maybe you don't think you owe him. But I certainly do. We would never have even gotten here if he hadn't have been with us, I would never have survived. And even now he's sacrificing himself so we can get home."

"Aidan,"

"Shut up I'm talking to you, I'm fed up of this stupid jealousy..."

"Aidan,"

"What?" she snapped.

"Tell me that's a Raven," Frost pointed to a dark blob in the sky approaching their direction.

She squinted as she watched the flying vessel swerve and dive suddenly remembering Wilks' words.

"It's never a Raven."

The second Reaver let out a screech as it spied its flying buddy and headed straight towards them.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note-<strong>

Here it is folks, a brand shiny new chapter. For those who have read the previous chapters a millennium ago I would suggest a reread because I have altered a lot. Mostly a broader view on Wilks' past history.

I appreciate anyone reading this wee beasty, it is something that has meant a lot to me. Comments and reviews are always welcome.


	27. Chapter 26: In Life & Death

**Chapter Twenty Six - In Life & Death**

* * *

><p>Wilks had never deemed himself as a particularly clever person. Throughout his childhood he had to work hard to achieve results. The pressures of being Richard Wilks' son had always worn hard on him. So many high expectations and very few pats on the back. But now, as he stood watching the second Reaver join the celebration of his inevitable death, he realised he was going to have to use every recess of his brain if he wanted to get those survivors to Jacinto.<p>

He just needed to piss it off long enough to attract any COG attention and to make the biggest noise doing so.

He ran his fingers over the teeth of his chainsaw. He had relied on this gun so often in his life and now it would be part of his final swansong.

"Here goes nothing," he breathed before firing up the chainsaw.

He sprinted under the Reaver's belly making a dive at the creature's legs. The chainsaw juddered and jerked at the tough skin. It hurt enough to force the Reaver backwards, it let out a screech and tried to stamp its injured foot hard down on Wilks. He leapt out of way into cover as the Reaver's riders started firing at him.

* * *

><p>The boys watched Aidan in fascination as she ordered them in position. Before their own eyes they had watched a transformation from scared girl to competent woman. She had positioned herself awkwardly on her haunches between Lem and Eli and Frost's vacant back.<p>

"Lem and Eli, you guys need to take the Reaver on the left. Do everything you can to aim for the riders. I'll take the Reaver on the right." she glanced in Frost's direction, "If you decide to grace us with your presence Wash I'd appreciate your help here."

"What's his problem anyway?" Lem asked indicating Frost.

"He decided to take on the weight of the World now." Aidan snapped.

"But we're nearly at Jacinto," Lem frowned and turned to glance back at Angelo who cowered nearby, his eyes never leaving his friend, "We've come so far. Why give up now?"

"I get a feeling there's an additional factor in play here," Eli responded.

"Let him mope, all I care about right now is that we protect one idiot before I start worrying about the other one. Remember most importantly that we are trying to attract any COG attention." For the first time they had left the Compound she turned her attention Angelo, "Gelo I know that you won't fight, and you know what that's fine. But I need you to do something even more important. I need you to be our spotter."

"Wha.." his eyes flicked from Aidan to Lem, who just shrugged at him in response.

"I need you to watch out for a Raven and if you see anything you need to shout and scream as loud as possible. You think you can do that?"

Angelo nodded nervously in response.

"Right boys it's now or never, make those bullets count,"

Lem and Eli took their position behind the wall and shared out their remaining weaponry. They watched as Aidan shuffled further down the wall and awkwardly drew out her Longshot. Frost still vacantly ignored them.

"What the hell happened to my sister?" Eli commented with a smirk to Lem as they fired their first flurry of bullets into the Locust riding the Reaver.

"I think Wilks happened, Eli," Lem chirped over the gunfire.

* * *

><p>Wilks heard the gunfire from the group and for a moment it nearly threw him off his concentration. He had never expected them to attempt to help him. But he had a feeling that one person was solely responsible. In that moment regardless of whether he was going to survive this he was eternally grateful to the young woman, that he was now almost certain he was falling for her.<p>

He revved the chainsaw again and lunged at the Reaver's injured leg. It screamed this time at him and reared up before it stamped hard down at Wilks.

* * *

><p>Aidan tried to balance the Longshot one handed and growled in frustration.<p>

"Fucking arm!" she roared to herself and started to untangle her arm from its sling.

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice sounded right beside her that she jumped out of her skin.

"Frost!" she scolded him, "don't do that!"

"Aida you're hurt, you need to sit this one out," he gently chided her, placing a hand on her injured arm.

She flinched from him, "don't tell me what I can't do."

"You always were stubborn," he sounded like the old Frost. The guy who hadn't been affected by all the suffering they had been subjected to.

For a moment Aidan almost believed it was still him. A tiny part of her wanted to be taken into his arms and pretend everything was going to be ok. But her heart told her otherwise. Her old Frost had long gone, similarly as had she.

"No," her voice was cold and professional as she carefully slid her aching arm from its sling.

"Aida..." Frost watched her carefully as any last feeling she ever had for him slipped away in a single breath.

"If you ever cared for me Wash you'd help me,"

Frost reluctantly let out a sigh, "what do you want me to do?"

"Whatever ammunition you have left we need to aim for the Rider and the Gunner. Get them and Wilks will only have to deal with the Reavers."

"Either way he's pretty much a dead man," Frost couldn't help adding.

Aidan sent him a sharp look, "A horse without a jockey has no purpose. A Reaver without his rider should follow suit."

"Except you're forgetting that a Reaver is a Locust," Frost couldn't help thinking about the abomination that had appeared from the cave. "They're all essentially monsters in the end."

"Wash we are all that stands between Wilks and his death if no Raven comes in time. I don't care if the bloody thing glows. I will do my sure fire best to make sure that we aren't sacrificing Wilks for nothing."

"The guy really got to you didn't he," for the first time Frost was beginning to see the change in his childhood friend.

"Yeah well he made me see the bigger picture." She balanced the Longshot over her injured arm and lined up her target in her sights. She let out a long breath and let herself relax as she slowly pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the rider dead in its cranium. Blood and brain matter spurted from the Locust as it crumpled lifeless in its seat.

Aidan looked back in astonishment, had she really been able to headshot that Locust without even thinking about it? She let out a half laugh and wished that Wilks had been there to witness it. The butterflies in the pit of her stomach danced and swirled. She gave Frost a beaming smile as she pointed at her conquest.

"He made that possible Wash, that's why I'm doing this."

* * *

><p>Lem had never considered how much easier a Hammerburst seemed to operate compared to the Lancer. The Compound had only ever given them the bigger COG issued weapon to practice and he had always found it extremely heavy and cumbersome. Granted using the Hammerburst meant that he had to constantly keep pulling on the trigger but this he felt gave him more of an accurate shot. He would never admit it to Angelo but he actually enjoyed defending his group for a change, rather than cower in the corner.<p>

He glanced across at Eli who had been concentrating on the Gunner positioned on the rear seat of the Reaver.

"How are you for ammo?" he asked.

Eli looked back at him thoughtfully, "I think I have half a clip left. How you doing with the Rider?"

"I've hit him a few times, but the Reaver keeps jerking upwards whenever I think I've got a decent shot,"

Eli sat back for a moment to deliberate their next move, "Okay what if we both concentrate on one Locust at a time. The Gunner is tucked away and I'm struggling to get an accurate aim on it."

"Tell me which one to shoot and I'll keep firing."

"Let's start with the Rider and we'll take it from there,"

Together they concentrated their firepower on the single Locust, their bullets smattering into the creature until it could take it no more. They watched as it dropped from its seat onto the ground only to be trodden on by the Reaver.

"One down..." Eli announced.

"Gunner to go." Lem finished for him as the pair reloaded their weapons with the remainder of the bullets.

* * *

><p>Wilks was starting to falter. He could have coped with one Reaver, but two, two meant that he had to think at a pace he wasn't used to. The beasts had caught him a couple of times whilst he had tried to dart away from the other. His arms were bleeding, his leg was in agony and he was starting to think that the Reavers were actually outsmarting him. He was so focussed on them that he missed the Locust drop down from its seat above him and slip silently into cover awaiting its moment.<p>

His leg gave way and he stumbled again, he let out a grunt of frustration as he tried to hoist himself back up. The Reaver above him made its move and slammed its claw directly above him. He thrust the chainsaw blades of the Lancer up into the sole of the beast's talons and sliced upwards. The Reaver fought his attack wriggling and screaming at him. Wilks rolled out of the way whilst it snapped at him with its looming jaw full of pincer like teeth, he swung the chainsaw at it catching its chin and slicing across. Blood and teeth spurted out at him forcing Wilks back to the ground. The Reaver whirled round in frantic agony reared up and screamed, squirting blood as it scrabbled to defend itself . Wilks was unable to react fast enough as it smashed its talon hard into the ground to steady itself. It caught him. Stabbing him through the shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

Wilks screamed.

He grabbed both hands round the Reaver's claw and tried to push it backwards. He felt the creature tug at him in rapture, jabbing the foot hard down again to assert its shot.

He scrambled for his Lancer gripping his fingers over the handle to tease it towards him. The pain seared up through him as his increasingly useless arm twitched pathetically around the Reaver's foot. Very slowly he eased his weapon over to him and swung it over his arm. Revving the chainsaw and slicing it at the beast's leg. This time the chainsaw caught a grip and started to cut into it. The Reaver lifted its leg, taking Wilks with it and flicked him off it. Wilks hit the wall like a ragdoll and dropped to the floor with a thump.

* * *

><p>Aidan screamed as she helplessly watched Wilks from behind her cover. She dropped her Longshot ready to make her way over to him. Frost held her back, pinning her arms to her side. She struggled against his hold, her arms wriggled as she tried to fight him.<p>

"Get off me Frost," she cried out, "I have to get to him."

"I can't let you do that," Frost told her firmly, "You know he wouldn't want to put you in danger."

"I can help him,"

"Look at you Aida, you can't help him there," he pointed at Wilks, "But you can help us here."

The injured Reaver took to the sky letting out a blood gurgled screech as it retreated away from any gunfire. The second Reaver paused a second and watched as the other flew in disorientated swirling circles.

They observed Wilks very slowly pick himself up and hold himself up against the wall as he coughed up blood.

"We need you here," Frost reiterated to her, "Wilks can look after himself."

The second Reaver let out a squeal as the remaining Locust Gunner turned and started firing at them.

They dropped down to avoid its shots. She let out a breath as she caught sight of her brother and Lem fire at the Reaver in response.

"Okay," she eventually responded and picked her Longshot back up to line her next shot.

* * *

><p>Wilks felt his body cry out under him as he fought the ever expanding need to just lie down and give in. He spat out more blood in defiance as he held himself up one handed against the wall. He turned and staggered almost drunkenly in the attempt to find his weapon. The scenery spun and danced around him. His vision blurred with sparks as he blinked to fight the wooziness.<p>

This was not good.

He stopped in his steps in the hope that the Seran landscape would stop spinning if he remained stationary. However the slower he moved the quicker the second Reaver seemed to chase him down. He held a hand against his wound, feeling his own blood seep between the material on his gloves.

He needed to find his weapon. He didn't like this feeling of helplessness. He spat out more blood as his mouth tinged with that distinctive metallic taste.

* * *

><p>The Locust Gunner eventually slumped in its seat after being bombarded with a flurry of bullets. The Reaver shook the body off its back and took to the sky. It let out a screech at its injured friend as it hung in the air panting and floundering. The Reaver then caught sight of Wilks as he staggered to maintain composure and charged at him.<p>

* * *

><p>Angelo watched the skies like his life depended upon it. His breathing was tight and restricted and every so often he felt himself go dizzy. He kept fighting the desire to fly out of control. He had to prove to Lem that he could stand up for himself, that he didn't rely on him every second of his puny life. He was not going to let this Rustlung get the better of him, not whilst he still maintained some kind of control over his body.<p>

"Come on sky, come on," he kept muttering as he kept his body hidden behind the wall trying to avoid the destruction of the one man who had tried to save them.

Then it happened.

It started out as a black blob hovering in the distance. He watched it carefully in case it was another Reaver heading towards them. He prayed to the Allfathers, muttering their names in turn, begging them to give them the much needed luck that they so wanted. The blob came closer and so did that distinctive thundering sound of the propellers rotating rapidly on the King Raven that approached them.

He leapt up with a triumphant scream.

"Raven!"

All four turned to him as they watched him pointing and screaming at the sky.

"I see it!" he yelled filled with an excitement he had not felt for some time, "there's a Raven."

He kept jumping up and down waving his arms frantically completely oblivious to the remaining danger around them.

* * *

><p>The Reaver picked up on the erratic movement close by and switched its flight heading directly towards Angelo.<p>

"No!" Wilks yelled as his drunken vision watched the Reaver find a new victim.

Finally he managed to grab a hold of his Lancer and fired his final five bullets at the Reaver. It was enough for it to take notice and it paused mid flight, slamming its feet on the ground to whirl round at him. It let out a screech and barred its barbed teeth at him.

"Come on then!" He shouted at it, "Finish me off if you think you can do it!"

Wilks didn't care what happened to him now, his main priority was to keep those kids safe. It was the reason he was still here after everything that had happened. Get those kids to Jacinto no matter what.

The Reaver stalked towards him hissing in glee lifting each leg and jabbing it at him. It had learnt to keep a distance from the chainsaw so it took its time hunting him down. It did not expect the sudden flurry of bullets from the sky. It paused for a second, shocked that there was an additional enemy somewhere that it had missed.

The Gear manning the turret on the Raven pointed and signalled towards the Reaver. The creature took to the air to defend itself, with no Gunner or Rider the beast had no way to protect itself. It screeched and flung itself away from the bullets.

Wilks had been so busy feeling relieved that help had finally arrived at last that he was unaware of the Locust behind him. The first he knew of it was when he felt a blow to the head.

The Locust grabbed Wilks by the throat and dragged him towards cover. The monster cursed and swore at him in a language that Wilks couldn't understand, yet he could tell by the look on its face it was all meant in hatred. Fear bubbled through him as he struggled against the Gunner's hold. Satisfied that it was out of the Raven's firing line the Locust drew level with Wilks' face staring unblinking and soulless back at him. Its nostrils flared in disgust as it sniffed at him, moving its head along his body taking in Wilks' disfiguring scars and injuries. It opened its mouth and snarled at him, its yellow pointed teeth and breath that stank of putrid death.

"Stoopid Ooman," it hissed at him, jabbing its clawed nail into Wilks' bleeding wound. Wilks clenched his teeth to fight back the urge to cry out, he struggled against him.

"Fuck you," he spat blood at the Locust's face.

It snapped its head back in shock and murder filled its eyes. It smiled at him as it clasped both hands around Wilks' neck and squeezed tightly.

Wilks struggled and fought as best as he could but as his air flow reduced his fight lessened. His brain floundered for a way to save himself. His vision started to grow hazy and his body grew weaker. Somewhere in his mind grasped the tiny ounce of aggression he had left. His hand drew round his Gnasher nestled safely behind him, he slid it out from under him whilst the Locust squeezed harder and harder against his larynx. Just as the last ounce of life clung to him he angled the Gnasher under the Locust's chin and fired.

Everything went black as Wilks felt his last gasp escape his lips.

* * *

><p>Aidan threw her Longshot and scrambled to her feet, pushing away Frost who tried to hold her back.<p>

"Let go of me Wash or you're going to regret it," there was a fire in her eyes that he had never seen before. He released her and held his hands up in surrender.

She staggered to her feet, cursing the pain that surged through her injured ankle as she tried to run to him.

"Wilks!" she breathed as she caught sight of a bloodied mess of bodies.

She dropped to her knees to push the Locust body off him, a mixture of brain matter and skull splattered across him. She used her shawl to wrap around his shoulder to stop the bleeding and wiped the remainder of the mess from his face, running her hands across his bloodied face. He wasn't breathing.

"Shit," she cursed, "Not now Olly, not now. Help is here. We're nearly home."

She ran through her head, he wasn't breathing but there was a very faint erratic pulse tapping slowly back at her as she pressed her fingers against his neck. She had to get him breathing again. She tilted his head backwards slightly to open his airways and overlapped her hands over his chest.

"One, two, three, four..." she counted each time she thrust her hands against him, feeling the agony tingle up her injured arm. She didn't care how much it hurt, her mind had only one concern.

She pinched his nose and covered his mouth with her own, breathing into him, she watched as his lungs inflated. She returned back to his chest to continue working on his heart, counting out each time she pushed against him. Once again her lips covered his, giving him her breath. The longer she worked on him the more she panicked.

"Olly come on!" she cried out, tears had started to seep from her eyes and down her cheeks, "Don't you dare leave me!"

Eli had finally discovered them, he stood quietly above her watching her work frantically on the fallen soldier.

"Aide," he quietly interrupted her, "Aide stop. He's gone."

She looked desperately up at her twin, her face covered in bruises as her hair clung in ragged rats tails around her face and in her eyes, her body plastered in dirt and blood.

"Help me Eli," she pleaded, "I can't lose him."

"Aide,"

"I won't leave him,"

He had never seen his twin sister so passionately dedicated to something, or someone. No matter what had happened to them she genuinely felt something for this man who had sacrificed himself for them.

He took to his knees opposite to work on his heart whilst she continued to breathe for him. As they worked together Eli watched every move his sister made, every breath she took for the downed soldier, every tear she shed for him.

Eli sat back shaking his head, "He's gone Aidan."

She ignored him and breathed a final tear sodden breath for him before collapsing over him, sobbing.

As he left her cling to him Eli witnessed what was nothing short of a miracle. Clearly Sera was not finished with that foolish soldier.

Wilks' body shuddered and leapt as he sucked in a breath of air. His arms reached and grasped for anything to prove he was still alive taking hold of the girl knelt beside him. Hazily his eyes fixed on her as her arms wrapped themselves around him tightly.

"You bastard," she uttered into his chest.

"I love you too," he huskily croaked back at her.

* * *

><p>As the Raven landed and the Gears leapt out to help them Frost greeted them. The Reavers finally vanquished left splattered across the ground.<p>

"Please help us," he pleaded, "We are the remaining survivors of Junior Company Compound."

The squad leader stepped forward, helmet remaining in place.

"How many are you?"

"Six, plus we had a Gear helping us,"

"Are any of you injured?" The Gear asked taking count of the survivors he could see.

Before Frost could tell them of his own mortal wounds Eli ran towards them shouting.

"We need a medic immediately, Corporal Wilks is injured badly," he called.

The Gear called over to his men and followed Eli. They found the soldier lying partially conscious by a chunk of broken wall. Aidan sat protectively beside him keeping pressure on his wound. Wilks made a woozy attempt to acknowledge them but flopped weakly against Aidan. She steadied him back down and nervously retreated to allow the Gears attend to him.

"What's your name soldier?" The leader asked him as their medic examined his wound.

"Corporal Wilks, Ollyvar J." He responded by rote.

"Wilks? Weren't you Colonel Wilks' son?"

"Yeah the one who blew his head off," a Gear behind them muttered to his friend.

"After this one got ripped to chunks by a Wretch," his friend sniped back.

"I heard he had a mental breakdown,"

"I'm not deaf dumbass," Wilks weakly snapped at them trying to sit up but the medic pushed him back down again.

"What happened Corporal?" Their leader asked him.

"She can tell you," he pointed to Aidan who had been standing nearby keeping an eye on him.

The Gears turned to her and she took a deep breath.

"We are the survivors of Junior Company, our Compound was sunk by the Locust about a week ago. Corporal Wilks was the left to protect us whilst our Lieutenant was air lifted to Jacinto. He has led us this far with little ammunition and no assistance. We have lost countless children through means out of our control but we are alive because of him."

"Sounds like he's picked up a groupie," the snarky Gear in the background commented to his buddy.

Aidan decided to pretend she hadn't heard the comment and continued, "We have seen things I cannot begin to describe but we have remained a functioning group. We were attacked by two Reavers here and the Corporal put his life on the line to keep us safe. "

"And his injuries?"

"I only saw him get stabbed by the Reaver and thrown through the air," she responded carefully, "when I discovered him he was unconscious and not breathing. I performed CPR until he responded."

"Oooooh, kissy kissy," the Gear behind her stifled a snort.

Aidan's eyes flashed anger she turned, marched over to him and stared up at him with a look that could kill.

"I'm sorry is this entertaining to you?"

"Excuse me?" his helmet angled down to her to take her in.

"You heard me perfectly before,"

"I'm sorry but you're a kid, and a girl at that. You're nothing but a bit on the side he picked up to further his social time. We all know how much of an advocate his father was of the birthing farms." he snorted.

She pulled out the Gorgon and aimed it at his crotch pulling at the trigger until it clicked at safety. It was enough to make the Gear leap backwards nervously. His friend sniggered at him.

"Say that again to me and mean it this time,"

The medic alerted them from their confrontation, "We're losing him guys. He's losing too much blood for me to stabilise."

"Okay I'll radio ahead so Control can send a medical team and meet us at the landing site," the leader announced, "Boys let's get the Corporal wrapped up and ready for flight."

Wilks weakly tried to struggle against them, "No, they must come too."

The leader looked at the survivors who had now gathered nearby watching the scene before them. These teenagers obviously meant something to the Corporal.

"Right kids, you heard the Corporal we're going for a flight," he turned to his men, "radio to Control to alert them of this Junior Company."

They squeezed themselves into the Raven with Wilks on the cockpit floor strapped to the stretcher whilst the medic continued trying to stabilise him. Aidan strapped herself in as close to Wilks as possible. Frost felt a surge of jealousy course though him at the thought that Wilks was receiving the much needed treatment he should have had. He deliberated firing a bullet through the Corporal's head just so the Gears could pay attention to him for a change.

Halfway to Jacinto Wilks took a turn for the worse as his body started juddering and shaking.

"He's going into shock!" the medic yelled over the noise of the rotors, "Step on it!"

He dropped to the floor and commenced resuscitation.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note-<strong>

This was a tough chapter to write because I am extremely fond of Wilks, but a single Gear only has so much power against two Reavers. And what the hey we can't have him overcoming every situation can we?

Anyway hope you enjoyed. Three more chapters left folks...


	28. Chapter 27: The Harshness of Reality

**Chapter Twenty Seven - The Harshness of Reality**

* * *

><p><strong>-Two Weeks Later-<strong>

Jacinto had fallen apart by the time they had reached the city. Locust forces had broken through major defences and were working their way to the heart of the Capital. The ground shook in erratic intervals and the air was filled with an unmistakable stench of Locust.

Jacinto had held onto its meagre control for many years however now it looked like it was holding its final battle. The once ornate and beautiful architecture of the Capital's historic buildings now crumbled and smashed. Civilians clung to each other in the hope that the COG would pull out a last ditch attempt to save them.

The COG were barely holding Jacinto, the soldiers remaining had managed to keep the Locust back. But so much of the city had been lost already it was mostly damage control now.

* * *

><p>The air was thick with detonated smoke grenades causing Wilks to cough and squint at the scene around him.<p>

Since his return to Jacinto he had spent a week in intensive care and a second week recounting his version of events to Command. It had taken a while for him to find his voice again, but he had been making up for it. He had been doing a lot of talking when he felt should in fact be out in the city protecting it.

He pulled on his jacket and closed the doors to the therapist's office. Finally they had signed him off as fit for service.

"Please tell me its terminal," Cam had been waiting for him outside, perched on a wall of sandbags with his service pistol in hand. He had been counting bullets into the barrel.

"Yeah you'd love that wouldn't you," Wilks commented sharply as he watched his next in command slip the pistol back in its holster, "I wouldn't want to give you the joy."

"So yer finished spillin' yer 'art an soul to the doc then?"

"You know what it's like; go AWOL for a week and they want a minute by minute account of what happened,"

"Wilks yer weren't AWOL yer were dead,"

"Ah well potato, potato,"

Gunfire sounded somewhere in the distance followed by a deep rumbling boom of a grenade. The shards of brick and stone by their feet vibrated and skipped across the floor.

"There goes the neighbourhood,"

"Jacinto sure as hell went to the dogs since I've been away,"

Wilks had wondered how Cam had taken to his shock reappearance. If he had been missing for over a week then surely Cam would have assumed control over the squad. But if he had a problem with Wilks' return he wasn't showing it, Cam was never one to outwardly show his feelings.

"So yer seen the kiddies since yer dropped 'em off at day care?"

Wilks couldn't remember much about the encounter with the Reavers but he had been made aware that the Junior Company survivors had filled in where he was unable.

"They didn't allow me to have visitors in ICU. My memory has patchy moments the last thing I remembered was Aidan giving me CPR back with the Reavers, everything else is hazy." Wilks stopped to assess the destruction around them, so much had been destroyed that he wondered how long they could hold the city. "Once I was fit enough I've been repeating myself to about a hundred people."

"Interestin' news I've 'eard about 'em. Thought you'd appreciate an update," Cam responded and awaited for Wilks' nod to continue, "The younger ones are bein' carted off to different kids 'omes once they git the okay. There's one wit Rustlun' really bad I 'ear, they're gunna leave 'im 'ere once the evac takes place. The eldest one was suffering wit blood poisonin', he ain't good. Then there's the girl. There's a fight fer 'er, good breedin' stock. Currently she's on the next Raven outta 'ere to 'er 'ighest bidder's breedin' farm."

Wilks paused a moment. It took a beat for the short Islander to realise that his companion wasn't alongside him. He stopped, turned slightly and shook his head to give him a pitying look.

"An' I thought yer weren't the type to be affected by a pair o' blue eyes," Cam tutted, "I thought yer pa would 'ave taught yer better than that."

"There was a lot my father and I disagreed on Cam you know that,"

Cam and Wilks had gone through a lot together through the years. Wilks had grown up with Cam alongside him and had learnt to trust him more than he trusted his own father at times. Although the pair had their differences Cam respected Wilks for wanting to stand out from his father's shadow. Their major disagreement had come when Wilks had been awarded control of the squad after Wilks' father's death. Cam had argued that experience should take precedent whilst the Commanding Officers felt that they had to honour Richard Wilks' Last Will and Testimony which put his son in charge. Ollyvar had never wanted leadership but his father's Will had given him no other choice but to accept and deal with Cam's resentment in his own way. Despite their history Cam would always be fiercely loyal to Wilks regardless of who he thought should be leading their team.

"Talking of the girl, what do you think of her?"

"Hey I'm not one t' git involved in tha' stuff anymore," He responded with his hands raised in defence, "What yer do in yer own quarters is yer own business."

"Cam you can be such an idiot sometimes," Wilks face palmed.

"Well yer pa would never 'ave agreed to 'ave a girl in 'is squad. But some'ow Sofie ended up with Tate on 'is watch," Cam responded quickly.

"She's pretty talented with a Longshot. She does lack a lot of front line experience but with some coaching she could be useful for us."

"Useful fer us or useful fer yer, it's potaytor potartor again,"

"Look I'll admit that there are feelings that I'm not too sure how to explain and I kinda feel responsible for her now since we've come this far. But I genuinely think that she has a talent. Plus we could always do with a Longshot specialist."

"Well yer stubborn like yer pa, so there's no tellin' yer," Cam shrugged.

A deep guttural Locust voice roared nearby. The pair dropped behind a long abandoned car to assess the threat. Somewhere at the end of a street a Gear had grabbed a Locust Grenadier by the throat and had started dragging it down the road as it struggled to be freed. He screamed at it in anguish before smashing its head repeatedly against a brick until its skull caved in. The Gear was still screaming it whilst his squad mates pulled him away.

"We have to cling to what we hold close, right?" Wilks responded before Cam could comment on the scene.

"Yer've changed, kid," he said eventually, "I don't know exactly what but there's somethin'."

"Here to keep you on your toes Cam,"

"It suits yer," he honestly admitted.

Wilks leaned against the car to look thoughtfully at the ground before turning to Cam, "look I need to do something before I seek their Lieutenant out. Can you get the squad on standby. I'm fed up of standing around twiddling my thumbs whilst Jacinto falls apart."

"Yer don' need t' tell me twice," Cam nodded and headed towards their quarters.

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Brewer sat thoughtfully as he stared at the darkening skies and at the eventual looming doom over Jacinto. His life had been thrown through the ringer recently and now he wondered how secure it was ever going to be. He had heard of whisperings of an evacuation of the city and he tried to calculate whether it was possible. His concerns went to the welfare of the remnants of his Compound. The few that had returned to him had been affected both mentally and physically from their ordeal to the city. He doubted they would entirely recover from another uprooting.<p>

He watched as a young soldier strode determined towards him. He was dressed in his fatigues but Brewer could see the guy had a military upbringing from the way he held himself. The soldier stopped close by and saluted him.

"Lieutenant Brewer, might I have a word,"

"Do I know you Private?" he asked slightly suspiciously. He had been inundated with requests since his kids had arrived at Jacinto, this conversation was on its way to going south very quickly.

"Sergeant now actually, the bastards gave me a bloody promotion," the soldier corrected, "and I'd like to believe you do."

"How so?"

"Firstly my squad came to your aid back at your Compound and secondly I was the man who led your kids to Jacinto,"

"No Sergeant I had over a hundred children in that Compound, you only returned six, one of which is on his death bed. So no Sergeant I view your job as a failure." He emphasised the soldier's rank for effect

"With respect sir that's total BS, the majority of your children were mown down by Locust before my Squad even arrived. The remainder were wiped out when your Compound sank into the Hollows. My responsibility was not to the survivors of your compound until later on. Might I remind you I also relinquished my place in the Raven for the sake of one of your own."

Brewer took a moment to recover from the soldier's response, "So what do you want then Sergeant, other than to criticise my own failure at keeping those children safe?"

"I'm here to request something from you,"

Oh here it goes, Brewer had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"Oh yes?" he responded as unemotional as possible.

"I'm unsure whether you are aware but during our journey I found myself in an unique position of protecting Aidan,"

"You mean the same position which resulted in you holding a gun to a child's head? Do you find those actions befitting of a Squadron leader?"

"I don't know what lies that boy has told you but my actions are justifiable. That kid is a spineless traitor."

"Fortunately for you Sergeant I've heard six accounts of that incident and although your actions surprised and appalled them, they found it totally justified. They also said that you took sole responsibility for Aidan's safety throughout for which I must express my heartfelt gratitude."

"Thank you sir,"

"I am also aware that Aidan has been going on and on about how an idiotic soldier made a promise to her to take her under his wing when she gets to Jacinto. Is this correct?"

"It is indeed sir,"

"Who are you to make such decisions without conferring with me beforehand?"

"In all fairness sir it's Aidan's choice to make the decisions of her future,"

Brewer shook his head, sending the soldier a stern look, "It's more complex than that Sergeant. Her father signed his children over to me. Any decisions made about that child is done by me."

"Look sir, I'm aware of the elaborate cover up to protect her from the farms. I've seen that horror first hand and I have no wish for her to fall into wrong hands. But what future does she have in Jacinto now that the COG know of her existence. You can't tell me that you're going to go ahead and attempt to protect her yourself. Especially considering that I know that powers beyond your control have already got her penned to take the next Raven out of here."

"And what can you do that I cannot?"

"I can give her the time needed to train and protect her. I can assume guardianship until the time she feels she can stand on her own two feet unaided. I can give her a COG status and protect her from the farms. Look sir I'd even offer my hand if I knew she'd take it, but that would mean putting my own feelings ahead of her own."

Brewer watched the Sergeant carefully as he matched his gaze, the soldier had a steely determination that he admired.

"So in theory, saying that I agree to your proposition, the decision itself is down to Aidan. I don't know whether when the time comes to it she could part from her family. Especially now considering Frost's condition."

A darkness clouded the Sergeant's countenance,

"Frost's condition?"

Brewer shook his head, "It's not good I'm afraid."

"What are we talking about here? Weeks, Months, Years?"

"Days, hours even. They lost precious time pinpointing the poison used,"

Wilks dropped heavily to the seat beside the Lieutenant.

"He knew something was wrong and promised me never to say anything to her. Son of a Bitch."

The Lieutenant studied the Sergeant beside him for a moment. This young soldier had brought the remainder of his kids home. He had managed to protect them with very little ammunition and help from them. It would have been easy to walk away from them. The moment the Raven had returned them to Jacinto the soldier had been rushed away. He would not have blamed him if he had never looked back. Yet here he sat pledging to honour a promise. Brewer let out an eventual sigh.

"Ok so here is the deal. I will sign guardianship over to you on the basis that Aidan makes her own mind up. She must do so on seeing Frost's prognosis and she must meet your squad before she makes her decision."

Wilks thoughtfully nodded, "Are there any stipulations of the guardianship you want to lay down before I put pen to paper?"

"I could come up with a long list of rules,"

"And I'd abide by every one if it meant that Aidan was safe in my hands. I think you might underestimate how much I care for that girl."

"I'm beginning to gain an understanding," Brewer responded slyly.

"If you get the paperwork ready I'll return Aidan before the enforced curfew. I will sign my life over to you and then she can take as long as she wants to make her own decision."

"Fair enough," he sighed, taking his time to stand up, "She's in the infirmary with the others. Just tell the staff I sent you."

* * *

><p>After all the excitement and terror that he had experienced during their ordeal to get to Jacinto, the last few weeks seemed to drag by. Eli had never thought he would be this bored again. He sat slumped against the metal headboard of his bed watching the remnant of his family do absolutely nothing. The moment they had been brought to Jacinto there had been a never ending flurry of people and doctors surrounding them. He had watched as Wilks had been stretchered away through a sea of COG officials and doctors probably never to be seen again.<p>

His family had undergone a rigorous decontamination process. Frost had been taken away for further treatment and hidden behind curtains. Angelo had been put on some huge horse pills to help counteract the Rustlung process, which had already started to spiral out of control. On Aidan's discovery she had been poked, prodded, examined, scanned, re-poked, x-rayed and bandaged up then eventually confined to bed rest whilst they decided her inevitable fate. Only Lem and himself remained untouched. Whilst David's whereabouts had gone unnoticed as the kid had slipped through everyone unseen, returning only for food or sleep.

Lem threw a tennis ball against a wall, let it bounce against the floor and caught it. He let out a frustrated sigh as he glanced in the direction of the glassed up cubicle Angelo had been confined.

"This is ridiculous,"

"Tell me about it," Eli agreed.

"I'm starting to think we were better off as far away from Jacinto as possible,"

"I'm starting to agree with you," Eli had watched as doctor and soldier alike had come to examine Aidan from her glassy fishbowl of a cubicle. She had become part of a free-for-all and he had already seen how their arrival at Jacinto had drawn her into herself. She was currently asleep sat on the floor in the corner next to the bed, blankets around her, attempting to hide herself as much as possible in her moment of vulnerability.

"But what can we do, we're powerless. Now we're in Jacinto we're part of the system. If we're lucky Brewer will take us under his wing and train us as recruits. If we're unlucky..."

"...You and I will be dished out to children's homes until we come of age. Aidan will be shipped off to a farm. Angelo will be left to die. And Frost... I don't even know what to say about Frost."

"We could escape," Lem suggested with a shrug.

"To where? You know more about the wasteland than I do and I get the feeling the only places you really knew have either been destroyed or sunk to the Locust,"

"I can't protect Angelo in here if I can't get to him Eli," Lem sent Eli an exasperated look as he threw the tennis ball at the glass window cracking the glass. The nurse on the other side looked up in alarm then marched over to their room.

"What the hell are you doing!" She barked as she snatched the ball from Lem's hands, "There are sick people here!"

"We're bored!" Lem responded, amping up the whine to irritate her further.

She grabbed Lem by the arm, roughly led him over to his bed and plonked him down on it, "How many times have I told you to stay there and get your rest. For crying out loud there are Locust on our doorstep, people are dying around you. And you moan about being bored."

"S'cuse me nurse," a little voice sounded behind them at the door. They turned to see David standing innocently tilting his head and smiling.

"Yes child," she approached David with a warm smile.

"May I please have permission to take my friends out for a walk. Perhaps they will appreciate Jacinto from outside,"

Somehow from the moment they had arrived David had been able to enter and leave the infirmary of his own free will. Either it was because a Jacinto civilian could sense another one from a hundred miles away, or David really did belong in Jacinto. Even his temperament had changed since returning to his home city, he seemed a lot more confident.

"I'm afraid you'll need permission from the Lieutenant before you can take them out," the nurse's voice had softened significantly around David now.

"Oh but I do have permission. The Lieutenant said some fresh air would do them good," David beamed his biggest smile and innocently toed the floor.

Like magic the nurse was putty in his hands, "ok young man. As long as you take good care of them. You know Jacinto can be a dangerous city."

Lem and Eli watched in astonishment as the nurse turned her attention to another visitor and left them alone.

"How the?..."

"David are you magic?"

David grinned at the pair, "you're in my town now guys c'mon."

The pair hesitated a moment, glancing back at their family stuck in their cubicles at the mercy of the nurses around them. They decided that nothing could be done stuck inside and both longed to breathe in some much needed fresh air.

"So how come you came back for us David?" Lem asked the question that both were thinking, "I thought you would have ditched us and never looked back."

"Well I did leave you guys," David responded matter of fact, "but I ran into a situation.

The COG run infirmary was situated in the centre of Jacinto next to the soldiers' living quarters. It gave people an opportunity to look down over the city and examine its real beauty. Although all it glimpsed now was a view of destruction and eventual devastation.

The infirmary doors gasped open letting in a rush of air. It was thick and muggy and tasted a lot like fumes and death. Eli shrivelled up his nose as he took in Jacinto from the ground. Tall ornate buildings towered around them, many of which were missing a roof. Statues perched and tottered in precarious positions. There were people everywhere. Civilians, soldiers, doctors. Soldiers working in teams jogging urgently together with their giant Lancers resting in their arms. Civilians dashed in and out of buildings, huddling together as they navigated their way down the street. Doctors were rushing casualties into the infirmary holding bandages over inflicted wounds. The city buzzed and purred as it held on for its survival.

Eli stepped back a moment at the shock of it. He knew war was messy but he had never considered that it would be so close to where they had just complained about boredom

David caught Eli's expression and beamed, "It's great isn't it? This is my home city and I love it.

"It's a bit much to be honest David, I'm not used to all this.

"You'll get used to it," he responded, "C'mon follow me.

Lem gave Eli a knowing look, "If it's any consolation. I never got used to it."

* * *

><p>The nurse poked Aidan lightly in the side as she entered the cubicle to make the bed. Aidan grunted and pulled the blankets tighter around her.<p>

"Get up sweetheart we have more prospective visitors,"

"Please," Aidan pleaded, "I don't want to be sold to the highest bidder."

"All the tests came back positive, you are in perfect breeding condition," the nurse pulled the blankets off her and placed them on the bed. She then heaved Aidan to her feet to assess her. She picked up a hairbrush from the side table and ran it through Aidan's blonde strands. "Not perfect but you'll do."

"Can't I be a soldier?" Aidan asked searching the nurse for any kind of sympathetic response, "I'm not fantastic but I can work hard at improving. Please."

The nurse fixed her with a look then grabbed Aidan's hand placing it on her own stomach. The belly rippled and kicked back at her. Aidan leapt back in response sending the nurse a look of confusion. The nurse gave her a sad smile back.

"I didn't have much choice either child," she ran her own hand over her belly, "I was lucky that I found someone I felt something for before they sent me off to the nearest man. I know it's not perfect for you but at least you'll have plenty of choice."

Aidan sat on the bed to face the nurse, "There was someone. I would have dropped everything to be with him but I don't even know if he's alive. When we arrived here he was rushed away to be operated on he was in a bad shape, I doubt they'd even tell me he was dead."

The nurse readjusted Aidan's sling and straightened up her clothing, "Life's a bitch sometimes. My own husband and child were killed on E-Day. I didn't want to do this again, I couldn't. But I am."

Aidan lifted her leg to examine the bandage around her ankle, "Sixteen years I escaped all this. I was a fool if I ever thought I would truly be free."

A sound of voices in the corridor alerted the nurse, "Right get yourself ready, your visitors are here. Be a good girl and do your duty."

She nodded solemnly and watched the nurse leave. She picked up the hairbrush and ran it through her hair again, ready to accept her fate. What was the point in fighting anymore.

The footsteps in the corridor set her stomach lurch in fear, she really wasn't ready for this. Another nurse was talking away to the group of men outside her room, giving them her general health details.

"...And at sixteen she has plenty of good breeding years..." the nurse prattled off until a voice stopped her.

"No this isn't right," a familiar voice interrupted, "she doesn't look like a Bob."

Aidan looked up at the group of men to see Wilks standing in the forefront of them beaming warmly back at her.

"Wilks!" she cried leaping off the bed and rushing to the doors of her room.

Wilks strode towards her and embraced her tightly, "Hey kid, guess who's not dead."

"I'm so happy you're alive,"

"How do you fancy getting out of here for a bit."

The group behind them hesitated a moment before the nurse approached him.

"Excuse me," she cleared her throat, "This is a no contact interview."

"Sorry lady but this fantastic specimen is not for sale," he squeezed Aidan slightly, "I made her a promise."

"Okay, but I'm going to have to contact her handler,"

"You do that, in the meanwhile I'm taking her out of here,"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note-<strong>

I must firstly apologise for Cam's language, if anyone didn't completely understand it I can do a rewrite so he's easier to understand. I did want to make sure his accent was something that was consistent throughout as he does sound different to that of Wilks or Brewer.

Anyway, hope you enjoy. Would appreciate any comments.

Two chapters left guys!


	29. Chapter 28: The Choices Laid Bare

**Chapter Twenty Eight - The Choices Laid Bare**

* * *

><p>Aidan cowered behind Wilks as he led her through the busy streets of Jacinto. Somewhere in the distance a grenade detonated and a Locust roared out in defiance. She took everything in wide eyed and petrified. A soldier pushed passed her with his Gnasher in hand, splattered in blood, separating her from Wilks. Aidan panicked for a moment unable to find Wilks amongst the push of people caught in the flow against the tide. She struggled to fight against the force until a hand grabbed hers and pulled her out. She grabbed him tightly into an embrace squeezing her eyes shut.<p>

"I don't think I can do this," she breathed.

"It's only Jacinto," he replied as he carefully led her away from the threat around her and sat her on a step to view it all, "take a breath and look at all those humans around you. Living survivors Aide. Even now they are fighting for their lives in the face of diversity."

Aidan couldn't help hearing admiration in Wilks' voice as he watched his people around them. The sound of gunfire sent the humans scurrying even faster through the streets.

For the first time she was able to take in Wilks without his armour. His civilian fatigues revealed a much slender muscle toned person than she had imagined. His jeans were worn at the knees and torn at the edges. He wore a t-shirt underneath his jacket which showed remnant of the bandage still around his shoulder. Around his neck hung his COG tags, something Aidan had refused to keep despite him offering them to her wholeheartedly. He looked so much older now that he was not in uniform. He was a fit adult male soldier, bred for war. And she in comparison was a girl born to breed. Somehow all this combined scared her even further and she crossed her arms over herself. Did she even know the man sitting beside her? After all they had only been together for a week, it was not possible to get to know someone in that short amount of time. How different was he from those soldiers eyeing her up for reproduction.

"Aidan are you okay?" Wilks asked sensing something was amiss as he turned his attention to her.

She didn't even know what to say to him. Her confidence around him crumbled almost as if she was back at the Compound the first time she had laid her eyes on him. She closed her eyes to figure out what her brain was doing to her.

"Aidan talk to me," she could hear Wilks' voice again.

"How old are you?" She asked eventually.

"What! Why?" Wilks clearly sounded confused, she couldn't help notice a tinge of fear lacing it as well.

"How old are you?" She repeated.

Wilks watched her, totally confused at her actions. Any progress he had made with Aidan seemed to have been snatched cruelly away and now he felt he was addressing a stranger. His heart broke.

"I'm twenty one. But why should that matter?"

Her eyes snapped open and she turned to him, he could see she was afraid of something.

"I'm only sixteen."

"And?" Wilks frowned.

"What do you really want with me?"

"Woah, woah, woah! Where's this all coming from?"

"You know I kept telling the nurses about you. I kept saying about this Gear who wanted me to be a part of his life, to be a soldier rather than a breeder. They all laughed at me. They all said you were lying to me to keep me around until the time came that you could have me for something more. I didn't believe them. Until now. It's only just hit me that you're a stranger to me. A Gear who was so kind to me during a horrible journey. You were only doing your job. Anyone would have done it. So who am I kidding. You're an adult man, born to fight. I'm a girl ditched in the country hidden from all this to escape my inevitable fate. And I'm only just realising now that I was foolish to consider that there was ever any other option than the farms. Stupidly I convinced myself I even had feelings for you. I am such a child," she berated herself as a tear escaped down her cheek.

"I'm away from you for a fortnight and they've already messed you up in the head," Wilks growled, "Aidan when did you give up on me?"

"They didn't believe me Wilks, they didn't believe you actually existed. I've been poked and prodded so much in these past few weeks I was starting to believe that I had made you up as well. Then I see you like this. You look so different, so...so...adult," she awkwardly responded

"This?" He pulled at the fabric of his jacket, then ran a subconscious hand across the scar on his chest. "I would stand naked before you if it meant you would trust me again."

She blushed, trying to turn away but he took hold of her arm.

"I meant every single word I said to you back in that wasteland. Don't you _ever_ forget that. I have just spent the past few days convincing my therapist that you were the one responsible for curing me. I have never felt this about anyone. Yes I'm an adult man bred for fighting, but that was all I have ever known. You changed that. I returned for you so you would never have to be subjected to the cruelty and humility that you have had to experience already. And I am so sorry I came too late. Today Jacinto is falling apart and I wanted to show you my family before it was too late. I wanted to give you a choice. Stay with your brothers or join me with mine. I have your Lieutenant writing up papers as we speak to hand over his guardianship to me if you picked me."

Aidan's eyes met Wilks, somewhere in the confused swirling darkness she could still see his honesty and affection. The same guy who had protected her for so far still stood resolutely by her side even now.

"You would do that?"

"Aidan I decided I wanted you in my life the moment you stupidly aimed your damn Longshot at your head. I want you as so much more. But if being your guardian is all I can be I will take that position and honour you with it. Together my team and I will help train you until you came of age and any decisions you make would be solely yours." He rubbed a hand through his dark hair trying to work out his next step, "I'm still that idiotic soldier Aide. Please don't feel like I'm any different from the guy you met back at your Compound. You saved my life out there, in more ways than one. Yes you are right, the person you were describing to those nurses didn't exist, but he certainly does now. He was an arrogant know it all with no respect for anyone who was struggling to come to terms with what had happened to him and no one to talk to. You broke me that first night, I have never cried to anyone before. You, you do things to me that I can't quite understand. And the truth is I need you, because my family would never believe you exist either."

"You really want me to meet your squad?" she asked nervously, watching as he rose to his feet to take in his surroundings. This upfront honesty was something he was still getting used to.

"You're going to have to make a hard decision in the coming days Aide. I need to be able to show you what you will lose depending on the choices you make. Because if you pick me you will be losing your brothers, which means that you will no longer see Eli, Lem or Frost. If you pick them I will no longer be a part of your life. So I urge you to take it all in and not to rush to make your decision. Whilst Jacinto stands so will I."

* * *

><p>"Here it is!" David beheld the large red brick building in front of them. The front steps alone towered above them.<p>

"Wow Dave you traded down. No wonder you wanted to go back," Lem commented in awe.

"I still don't get what you want us for though," Eli responded, holding back from going any closer, "you've found your home why do you need us."

"Because of this," David approached the building with Eli and Lem following behind him. He climbed each step with eagerness and anticipation and placed a hand on the door handle.

The door swung open revealing a giant gaping hole where a house should be. The entire structure had been destroyed into a sinkhole leaving only the front standing.

"Shit!" Lem exclaimed out of character and stepped backwards.

Eli edged closer to the hole staring down into the abyss, "funny how this keeps happening to us."

"What the hell do I do?" David asked them, "This was my home. Where do I go now?"

"Is this what you've been doing for two weeks? Coming here to work out what to do next?" Eli asked suspiciously.

"What other choices do I have, I was never a part of anything and now I don't even have a home,"

"Well there's always us," Lem suggested, "I know you never really wanted to stay with us and effectively put the lives of people we care for in jeopardy. But you are part of our family."

"You guys would never agree to that. That soldier would kill me,"

"We haven't even seen Wilks since we've been here. Besides he has his own squad to take care of now. It's just us."

"Lem," Eli cautiously warned.

"Come on Eli think about our worst case scenario. If you were in Dave's situation surely you wouldn't want to be left here alone."

"True," he edged his way back down the steps, "I suppose you've gone through the same mess as we have. But you realise you can no longer act like we're just a convenience until you find something better, or your father."

"I had never stopped to think what I would do if my only option was not an option at all." David admitted and dropped to the bottom step to take it all in, "I was so single minded. I know now. I had always thought if I kept my head down I would never have to see you guys again. I watched as everyone around me was destroyed. And I did nothing. Your friend Frost, I sat and watched him fall him apart before my very eyes. Your sister Aidan, I let her fall because I thought she had already met her usefulness. The soldier was right. I am a coward and a traitor. I could have done so much more."

"You can change. It's not too late." Lem knelt down to face the boy.

"All I wanted was to see my dad again," tears filled his eyes as he looked back at the single hand of friendship offered back to him.

"We've all had that feeling David. You're lucky you knew your father for so long. I never even knew mine," Eli had turned away from the pair and was now eyeing up the desolate street around them. A sound somewhere in the shadows had alerted him and it set him on edge that he had no way to protect them. "And in all honesty our futures are pretty hazy now as well. We have no idea what the COG have planned for us."

"But we can hope it'll work out," Lem sent the back of Eli's head a stare.

Eli held his hand up to silence the pair taking a slow step into the street.

"Eli?" Lem was now on his feet reaching out to protectively take David's hand.

The ground started shaking around them. The façade of David's house started to crumble brick by precarious brick. It started to lean forward like it was giant domino creaking and groaning.

"Run!" Eli yelled.

They sprinted into the street as the last remnant of David's house smashed around them. A dust of bricks and cement cast itself across the road. The three lay coughing and spluttering for a moment.

"Everyone okay?" Lem asked them as he picked himself up, brushing down the dust from his arms.

"Not really," the sound in the shadows had alerted Eli again, "I think we need to get out of here now."

Eli backed away slowly as Lem helped David to his feet. There was a skitter and a screech nearby and a group of Wretches appeared from the darkness. They hissed in glee as they made a lolloping charge for the boys.

The Wretches were fast using every trick to chase the three humans down. One bounced against the walls to give itself an advantage where it might have faltered down a long road. They were screeching now in the excitement of the chase.

David tripped over the cracking pavement and felt his grip from Lem slip away. He let out a scream as the Wretches closed upon him. Lem desperately searched around for something to keep the monsters back picking out a splintered strut of wood. He grabbed hold of it and ran at the Wretch swinging wildly. Eli grabbed David by the hand and pulled him to his feet. The Wretch flung its claws at Lem relishing the battle and pushing him backwards.

"I can't hold it much longer," he cried out.

A sudden blast of gunfire alerted the boys to a group of Gears headed their direction, one was shouting at them.

"Run boys!"

Lem dropped the strut and sprinted with the others towards the safety of the soldiers. The Wretches hesitated as the bullets ricocheted off the pavement. One Gear charged towards the creatures with his Lancer's chainsaw revving angrily. He made easy work of the Wretches leaving scattered body parts in the street that once was David's home.

The Squad leader knelt down to face the boys, his face completely anonymous covered by his helmet.

"Boys you shouldn't be here, this part of Jacinto is riddled with Grubs,"

"We're sorry sir, we were heading back to our family," Lem apologised.

"You should start getting yourselves evacuated from Jacinto, it's not safe here anymore. I'll send one of my crew to assist you back safely to where you want to go."

"Thank you sir,"

* * *

><p>The mess hall and sleeping quarters buzzed with soldiers. Some men were adorning armour to commence their shift. Others were peeling off Locust stained chest plates and trying to scrub the stench of intestine off them. The building omitted a certain odour of sweat and blood which only seemed to grow stronger the deeper the corridors ran.<p>

Aidan gawped in fascination at the hive of activity around her as they made their way to Wilks' squad's quarters. A couple of soldiers stopped Wilks to give him a pat on the back as he passed them.

"You're looking good man!" cheered one soldier who was missing one eye as he gestured to Wilks' scar.

"Thanks Frank, you're not looking too bad yourself," Wicks returned the back thump and continued down the halls.

"Wow," Aidan uttered quietly but loud enough for Wilks to hear, "I guess I never really knew the extent this war had affected people."

"Frank lost his eye back around E-Day," Wilks explained, "He's a fighter. Bastard's got his own Seeing Eye War Dog, saved his life too many times to count. Never feel sorry for him."

"I keep forgetting that you're a soldier. I guess I got used to seeing you away from all this," She gestured as a Gear emerged from his sleeping quarters in only a pair of boxers and string vest, leaving very little for the imagination, "Woah!"

"You did_ not_ need to see that," Wilks grabbed her hand to hurry her along.

The doors to Tango Twelve's quarters hung open as the sound of loud vibrating operatic music emanated from inside. Wilks cringed before he took a step forward.

"I must warn you they're good people just a little different from everyone else," He said with a wary smile.

Aidan nodded, "I like different."

As they entered the room the music reached a screeching crescendo causing the walls to shake. Two Gears sat at a table playing cards. One was gesticulating wildly with the music whilst the other dealt the next hand.

"Good grief guys, when did you go deaf?" Wilks announced as he strode over to the radio to turn it down only to reveal the sound of two people getting it on rather loudly in the next room. "Ah. I see."

"I wish I was deaf!" The first Gear responded, "Then I wouldn't have to hear those two doing the horizontal tango sunrise to sunset!"

Cam reshuffled the cards and placed them down on the table. "Sofie was so pleased 'er boytoy survived such an 'orrific ordeal. She opted to reward 'im,"

"Didn't he get shot in the thigh?" Wilks retuned the radio to something a little less painful on the ears and turned the volume up slightly, "That should be really hurting him right?"

"Like a bitch," Cam commented as he surreptitiously pushed a chair out for Aidan and gestured for her to take a seat, "Which is why he's the one screaming like a little girl."

Wilks shook his head in bewilderment then realised that Aidan had silently taken a seat beside Cam.

"Aidan I'd like to introduce you to Cam Ceorl and Miles Walden. Cam is our resident medic and my second in command and Miles is my go to engineer. Guys, this is Aidan,"

Miles performed a seated semi bow, "Aha so you're the one who stole our Wilksy. We were convinced he'd died down that sinkhole. Then the ole dog rises from the dead with a group of kids and a promotion in tow I hear."

"Really?" Aidan asked glancing back at Wilks in surprise that he had omitted this piece of news from her.

"Following closely in daddy's footsteps. 'Sergeant Wilks' so how does that sound to the ear?"

Wilks scowled, "Just a tad ridiculous if you ask me. I already command a squad why the hell would they want to bloody promote me. They should have given the damn thing to Cam at least he'd have appreciated it."

"Too damn right," Cam put in with slight humour.

"Well you know how the politics work Ol, son of a Colonel saves a group of children and gets them back to Jacinto sacrificing himself in the process. Surprised they aren't making you the COG poster boy."

"Don't you bloody start, isn't it enough that I got back here barely in one piece?"

Miles held his hands up in defence, "_I _wasn't the one eyeing your bunk up."

The door to the sleeping chambers flung open and a young woman in a short black negligee slunk into the room. She slid a packet of cigarettes out of the pocket of a bomber jacket hung on a hook by the door. Deep in thought she slid a cigarette between her lips and lit it using a lighter. She drew in a deep breath of nicotine, holding it momentarily before letting out a cloud of smoke. Still in her own euphoric state she eventually opened her sultry smokey eyes to observe the group watching her.

"Entertaining enough for you Gents?" She teased seductively before her eyes cast themselves on the strange girl sitting between Cam and Miles. Her body language stiffened slightly. "Can I help you?"

Aidan remained silent, she parted her lips to respond but nothing came out. Instead she glanced across at Wilks who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed watching the whole thing. The woman followed Aidan's line of sight till she recognised the man across the room from her.

"Ollyvar," even his name oozed like caramel from her lips as she accentuated the vowels , "I see you've finally returned to us."

"Sofie," Wilks nodded in greeting. Aidan couldn't help noticing the slight tension between them.

A semi naked man clad only in a pair of boxers emerged from the room. His chest was pockmarked with various scars from different injuries and his thigh was currently bandaged.

"Sof where did you..." He caught sight of Wilks and his face instantly lightened, "Olly!"

He marched over to Wilks and wrapped his arms around him.

"Am I glad to see you again!" He exclaimed.

"Tate it's not that I don't appreciate the love. I'm just not overly comfortable with the nakedness. Way too much of your skin is touching me right now." Wilks awkwardly attempted to peel Tate off him.

Tate stepped backwards with a grin on his face before fixing on Aidan.

"I know your face," he said to her and gently padded towards her, "but I don't recognise you."

"Here he goes again," Miles sighed.

Tate shook his head, "I know her Miles." He insisted.

"Actually it might be her twin brother you recognise Tate. He helped you whilst you were bleeding out at their Compound,"

Tate nodded thoughtfully whilst searching Aidan's face for any hint of masculinity. She sent him a nervous smile in response.

The woman stalked around the room till she was positioned beside Wilks.

"Who is she?" She hissed at him between grit teeth.

"This is Aidan, if she chooses to stay with us she will be trained with the Longshot as a member of Tango Twelve." Wilks responded loudly enough for the entire group to hear, "Aidan these two are Tate and Sofie. Sofie is not a soldier and should not even be here especially since I asked Cam to put the squad on standby. Tate get dressed, Sofie go home."

Sofie stared at Wilks for longer than anyone felt comfortable then turned aggressively to Aidan.

"You know he's using you kid," she snapped, "you'll be the most important thing in his life until he finds something better." She gave Wilks a glare suspecting that the damage was done.

She didn't expect Aidan's response.

"That may be but aren't I essentially doing the same thing? I stay here, he keeps me out of the farms and trains me up as a Gear. So what's stopping me from moving onto the next best thing when I'm finished with him?" Aidan pushed the chair back and stalked towards Sofie, facing each other the pair squared up, Aidan was not much shorter. "I'm also guessing that you may be a tad hypocritical of your own assertions. Little Miss Stranded finds herself a squad to dig her claws into." She held her hands up with the palms open, "On one hand you have the Squad Leader's son - a handsome up and coming soldier with added links to daddy. On the other hand a young and easily moulded Gear who I'm guessing will drop everything for you. Including his underwear. You probably played with them both until Wilks was done over by a Wretch. Decision made."

"Sofie C'mon," Tate reached out to grab Sofie's hand in warning. But she just flinched away from him determined to assert herself over this youngster.

"All I'd need to do is say the word and I have friends who would rape you in a second. They'd probably enjoy thrusting a knife into your perfect little belly and twisting it till you squealed like a pig,"

It was Wilks' turn to step forward this time between the two, he placed a protective hand on Aidan's arm. She glanced across at him with a reassuring smile before smirking at Sofie.

"Bring it," she calmly responded, "you know you think you're the meanest one here because you were Stranded. But I've been through shit these past few weeks. I watched a Horde of Locust mow down a room full of children helpless to stop it. We met a farm full of child raping cannibal Stranded, I shot their leader. We got chased by a fucking glowing Berserker. I got attacked in a tree by a bloody Wretch. And you know what, Wilks stayed by my side when he could have walked away, instead he puts his life on the line to help us." She purposely stroked the back of her finger down Wilk's arm to bring home her point. Unaware that everyone else had seen him close his eyes to fight the electric feeling that surged through him. The look on Sofie's face was priceless. "I grew up with a Compound full of boys Sofie. I know how their heads work. If you think you can intimidate me with petty little words, you're going to need to come up with a better game than that. Because if I choose to stay I'll be here for good."

They stared each other out, every part of Sofie twitched with aggression as Aidan blew the heavy strands of blonde fringe out of her eyes.

"Ooh can we keep you?" Miles exclaimed with a laugh breaking the tension filled silence.

Wilks had managed to pull himself together to take Aidan by the hand to lead her out before anything else escalated, "come on Aidie before Sofie explodes."

As they left Sofie let out a scream of frustration and swung a punch at Tate.

"Boy's got it bad," Cam commented after them.

"Yup," Miles agreed.

* * *

><p>The staff at the infirmary had started evacuating patients from their premises. Minor injuries were being patched up and sent away almost as soon as they had entered the building. The Locust were gaining ground faster than the COG were keeping them back. Slowly and surely Jacinto was slipping away.<p>

Brewer had been busy making arrangements for the evacuation of his little Compound remnant. He had come across many stumbling points which were preventing him from keeping the kids together. He had been told because he wasn't authorised to lead a squad he didn't have the power to take the group with him. So their inevitable fate still hung over them. He was yet to break it to them.

Lem and Eli had finally returned with David after their escapade. David had eventually accepted that his home no longer resided in Jacinto and resigned himself to remaining with the only other people who seemed to care.

After many arguments Lem was allowed access to Angelo. The moment Lem opened the door to his best friend's hospital room Angelo's symptoms instantly started to reduce. So much so that the baffled doctors had no other choice but to grant Lem permission to spend as much time as he could with him.

Only Frost remained cut off from everyone.

As Wilks led Aidan into the infirmary the pair were ambushed by Aidan's family. Eli leapt at his sister and held her tightly in an embrace.

"I never thought you were coming back to us," he exclaimed.

"You are such a loon Eli," she chuckled and hugged him back, "I love you too."

Eli released his sister to finally take in the soldier to which they owed their lives.

"Wilks, It got scary back there, I honestly thought she'd lost you,"

"I've still got some life left in me kid. It was a battle but perhaps I found a reason to live,"

"I hope so," Eli smirked at his oblivious sister, "I'm glad you didn't leave without saying goodbye."

"You kidding me?" Wilks responded, "I owe you guys my life, you will be ingrained in my brain for the rest of it. Goodbye is the least I can do."

"I hope so," Eli gave him a smile and offered a hand to shake, "It's been an honour."

Wilks smirked back at him, "The honour has been all mine Eli."

"Are you going somewhere?" Aidan asked her brother, curiously looking around at the hubbub in the infirmary.

"The Lieutenant is trying to arrange transport, we're being evacuated from Jacinto as soon as he gets the go ahead."

"You're ... leaving?"

"We're all leaving Aide," Eli corrected, "And we're being split up. I'm sorry."

Brewer caught sight of Wilks from his little adopted office of a side room. He rose to his feet and approached.

"Sergeant Wilks," he interrupted, "Might I have a word."

"Of course," Wilks left a panicking Aidan with her brother.

As Wilks entered the room Brewer shut the door behind him. Wilks sent him a look of confusion.

"Everything okay Lieutenant?"

Brewer looked flustered, "I've been working hard to try to get the kids out of Jacinto. Civilians are being evacuated all around us and I'm starting to feel helpless. I'm hitting roadblocks every time I attempt to do anything to protect them. They're even refusing me guardianship. I'm just too late to do anything."

Wilks thoughtfully watched the Lieutenant for a moment, assessing the man who had been a surrogate father to all the children who had lost their lives. Slowly he slipped a hand into the inner pocket of his jacket and retrieved an envelope.

"I was going to leave this with Frost but I'm thinking you'd appreciate this now," he handed it to Brewer.

The Lieutenant frowned at him before opening the envelope, prising the flap open to slide out the inserted sheet of paper. He took a few minutes to read the paper then took significantly longer to take in the implications of the written words.

"Wh..What is this?" He held the paper up to the younger Officer.

"That is the result of a day of string pulling and throwing my father's reputation around,"

"You're giving me a squad?"

"Theoretically I am giving you the rights to a squad. I kinda bypassed the restriction behind your handicap preventing you from commanding a squad."

"Why would you do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Wilks shrugged, "I owe my life to those guys out there. One way or another they have affected me in a way I can never comprehend. What kind of man would I be if I allowed them to be split up into birthing farms and foster care?"

"You've already been awarded a promotion what more could you want?"

"Why should there be a motive behind it?"

"Because there usually is,"

"Look if you don't want it you don't have to have it," Wilks sighed, tired of having his kindness thrust back at him, "let the boys get split up. I'm sure Aidan won't mind being shipped off to a farm. If you care for them half as much as I care you wouldn't be so picky."

Brewer looked at the sheet of paper again, "When I first laid my eyes on you I thought you were nothing more than a Gear out to split the kids up. Boy was I wrong. I've never been given anything as generous without expecting something in return."

"Well the one thing I learnt from my father is that you don't have to be a selfish asshole to be respected. Giving you a squad will even keep Aidan away from the farms. It will grant you guardianship again. I have no other motive other than keeping those kids safe. They've been through enough."

"I can never repay your kindness back, Sergeant. I don't possess half as much influence as you seem to hold,"

"Lieutenant I don't expect anything from you," Wilks placed a hand on the door handle, "Now if you don't mind I'm going to pass my regards to Frost."

Both Eli and Aidan were waiting for Wilks's return. He gave them both a smile as he headed towards Frost's isolation room. They followed closely behind him until he stopped outside the door. He held his finger up to the nurse waiting for him indicating to wait a moment then he turned to the twins behind him. It shocked him at how similar they looked standing together, fear in their eyes.

"Wait here a moment you two,"

"What's going on Wilks?" Aidan asked, "They're sending us away?"

"Don't be daft," he uttered as he mussed up her hair, "I'm going to sit and chat with Frost for a bit and then argue with the nurse for you guys to descend on him. How does that sound?"

Reluctantly Aidan nodded and followed her brother to where the rest of their group were chatting in Angelo's room.

The nurse watched Wilks in curiosity for a moment before opening the door to Frost's room and sealing it behind him.

Wilks paused a moment taking the room in. Frost was lying in bed with several IV bags of liquid churning into his body. The heart monitor hooked up beside him bleeped a loud staccato rhythm and every so often a sudden burst of air puffed into the room.

Wilks frowned, "didn't realise you were that infectious Frost."

Frost craned his head to look at Wilks, "my first visitor in almost two weeks and it's you." He said in disappointment.

"What's wrong with me? I take offence in that," Wilks walked up to the IV bag to examine the drugs being pumped into him.

"I just thought I'd see more people,"

"Well hopefully after I make a scene outside your room you'll be begging to be left alone,"

"I don't understand why they've isolated me, it's not as if I'm infectious."

"Maybe they're trying to protect the others from losing someone right before their eyes?" Wilks carefully took in Frost assessing whether his condition had worsened since he had last seen him, "How are you doing anyway?"

"Well after pinpointing the toxin they finally started me on a miracle drug a few days ago, but I'm not keeping my hopes up."

Wilks flicked the bag that glowed slightly, "guessing it's the one made up with extract of Imulsion."

"They've given me days if the drug doesn't work,"

"And if it does?"

"Well they say I can go back to leading a normal life. Maybe even start a family."

"Is that before or after you singlehandedly wipe out the entire Locust population?" Wilks leant against the bed.

"Yeah well I'm ready for a fight," Frost gave Wilks a purposeful look, "both on the battlefield and off it."

"Can I take those delusional drugs once you're finished with them?"

"So why are you here anyway Wilks? Come to gloat at what war does to a man." Frost pressed a button on the bed and it cranked him to a sitting position.

"Hey I've got the scars to prove that one. I don't need any more mementoes." He crossed his arms and stared vacantly at the cracked glass windows around the room, "We need to talk."

"We do?"

"I've made a request to become Aidan's Guardian. Your Lieutenant wasn't particularly happy about it until we both suggested that it was a decision that she would have to make."

"Why are you telling me this?" Frost asked him.

"Because I know she means something to you too and whoever she chooses she will have to live without the other. She stands to lose more by picking me and I want her to see that she needs to put considerable thought into her decision."

"But why would you even do that? "

"You hide your hurt behind your anger too much Frost. If I become her Guardian I have to step away emotionally from her in order to protect her. I cannot say the words but I know you can,"

"But what's the point..."

"Exactly, what _is_ the point eh Frost," Wilks sighed as he pushed himself away from the bed and headed towards the door. He turned back momentarily, "We only have one life why regret anything."

* * *

><p>True to his word Wilks managed to sweet talk the nurse into allowing Frost visitors. It hadn't taken long for him to be descended on by his family.<p>

Wilks watched through the window as Aidan leapt onto the bed to sit beside Frost, chatting animatedly about what she had seen in Jacinto. The boys had gathered on seats beside the bed joining in on the chatter. An outsider would have guessed nothing had happened to them as they exuded happiness and togetherness.

"I have the paper work for you to sign Sergeant," Brewer broke Wilks from his contemplation. He turned to the Lieutenant with a swift smile as Brewer stood beside him to watch the remnant of his compound. "They're good kids."

"You can't doubt their loyalty," Wilks took the guardianship document from Brewer and thumbed through it whilst Brewer stood beside him watching the others. He leant over the nurses station to steal a pen and scrawled his signature in the relevant places before passing it back to Brewer.

Brewer looked back at the paperwork, "No objections to anything?"

"I told you I'd sign it regardless of any restrictions put in place,"

"Yeah, but I didn't believe you,"

Wilks let out a heavy sigh, "I'll have to return to my squad now, otherwise they'll start thinking I've gone AWOL again. Lieutenant it has been an honour," he offered a hand out to shake.

Brewer accepted with his good hand and gripped it tightly, "No Sergeant the honour is all mine."

Aidan had caught sight of the interaction between Wilks and Brewer through the window. She slid off the bed and headed towards the door.

"Wilks," she called after him, opening the door.

In a moment of panic Frost decided to make his move, "Aida."

She paused momentarily and glanced back at Frost.

"I don't want you to leave me. I've been such a jealous idiot but I was just scared of losing you. Back at the Compound you were the only thing that kept me going. I'm sick Aida but if I recover I want to be with you, forever. I can't hide it any longer, I love you,"

Aidan silently stared back at him, unsure on her next move. But when she turned to Wilks for a glimpse of a suggestion, he had already left. She would have to make her decisions by herself.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note -<strong>

Here it is folks the penultimate chapter and its a bit of a beast in length, but I felt I couldn't split any of it up. I needed to draw a conclusion to David's story, because aside from being a traitorous a-hole he is in fact a scared kid that just wants a home. I have played Gears 2 so many times trying to gain an understanding of the state of Jacinto, a city just about hanging on with the remnant of mankind trying to maintain a normal life. I hope I've managed to illustrate it as best as I could.

We finally meet Wilks' squad, aside from Cam, and get an idea of the characters in it. I have developed an affection with Tango Twelve as such that I have further plans for them.

Those of you who may be interested I have already commenced work on a sequel, set two years after Jacinto has fallen - so around the same time as Gears 3 is set I believe. I'm also in the planning stage of a fiction about Tango Twelve before Wilks' became its leader, so we should get to meet Wilks' father and a lot about Wilks' past will be revealed. I hope we will be seeing much more of Tango Twelve in the future.

Anyway I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, Aidan certainly has a difficult choice to make. Let me know what you think!

One Chapter left!


	30. Chapter 29: Nowhere Left to Run

**Chapter Twenty Nine - Nowhere Left to Run**

* * *

><p>"We need to commence a complete evacuation of Jacinto," The Colonel announced to the assembled group of Squadron Leaders<p>

Wilks stood with Cam listening to Chairman Prescott and Colonel Hoffman. They had been called from the front lines whilst attempting to keep the Locust at bay. After an evening of non stop fighting had filtered into a morning of Locust and Gear bloodshed, they were ready to step back for a while.

The news was not a shock for Wilks.

"Delta One has gained evidence that the Locust Hollows stretch under the bedrock of Jacinto and that the Locust themselves are planning on flooding it. We need to gain a march on the Locust and flood it before they have a chance. Delta are on standby," Hoffman reported.

"Ah Delta," Cam growled.

"Down boy," Wilks muttered beside him, "man, I can't let you off the leash anywhere can I?"

"Sergeant Wilks," Hoffman barked at him, "do you have anything to add to the class?"

Wilks straightened himself up, "no sir."

"Well then pay attention,"

"Yes sir."

Some of the other squadron leaders had started to talk amongst themselves, voicing their own concern.

"So what are our next steps?" Someone asked.

"We have already started the civilian evacuation. I have squads working on the movement of food, fuel, ammunition supplies and transport. This is by far no small event, which we are lucky to be on top of. The civvies have been given the location of the evac sight and I have Ravens working shuttle constantly to get them out of the city. But we need to face it Jacinto is lost to us."

The room filled with soldiers exclaiming their disbelief. Everyone had been working so hard to keep Jacinto afloat it was hard to think they would have to give it up. Hoffman continued speaking over them, his dominating voice instantly silencing them.

"We have a Lightmass Bomb ready to detonate down in the Hollows. We are talking in a matter of hours here. I want squads doing a once over to ensure all civilians are out of domiciles. We are on countdown."

"How long are we talking about?" A Gear asked, clearly just returned from battle with his helmet still firmly in place and Lancer in one hand.

"We are expecting detonation in no later than six hours,"

The room burst into shouts of shock and defiance. Six hours was not long enough to ensure an entire city was evacuated. Clearly Hoffman could see this was a short order as well.

"I know this is a lot to ask which is why we need to work together. We also have Gears down in the Hollow who also need evacuating but first we must work on all essential personnel and civilians."

Hoffman called the squads by their call signs and assigned each a role in the evacuation.

"Tango Twelve," he looked to Wilks and Cam, "I need you to do a sweep of the East side, check all civilians and soldiers are clear. Then to rendezvous at the Evac site at final countdown. You will be on one of the final Ravens out of Jacinto. You wait for my command. Is that clear Sergeant?"

"Yes Sir, Crystal," Wilks responded with a salute.

By the time they had exited the Command Centre the city itself had turned into mayhem. Civilians were rushing in different directions, fear had turned them into irrational victims. Gears were attempting to communicate with them and clearly failing.

Wilks grabbed one woman by the arm as she fled passed, "Ma'am you're going the wrong way the evacuation point is that way."

She shrank back at his hold and let out a scream as she took in his face. He released her in shock and she staggered away from him.

"I keep forgetting I'm the monster. I guess I got too used to being treated like a normal human." He sighed.

"Nah," Cam responded, "They're too terrified to take in anythin' yer jus said. Got Nothin' to do wit yer looks."

"No but it helps,"

"If yer finished wit yer pity party we got a squad t' wrangle,"

"Yes Cap'n," Wilks mock saluted Cam with a half hearted attempt at humour.

"Why the hell are yer squad leader I'll never know," Cam tutted as he unholstered his service weapon in readiness.

"Yeah well if you want it so much just take your shot," Wilks held his arms out and turned to face Cam, "It's not as if I have any other reason to live."

"Yer live 'cos yer 'ave t'. 'Cos let's face it yer all we 'ave. An yer may not 'ave been my personal choice at leader but yer did save those kids which is pretty decent in my books. It's true yer not yer pa, yer so much better,"

Wilks carefully examined his Second in Command, "Cam did you just give me a compliment?"

Cam shrugged and pushed passed him, "What about it?"

Wilks jogged beside him, "Aww I believe after all these years you might be warming to me."

"Watch yer step kid, it don' take much fer me t' change my mind,"

The remainder of their squad were defending the south of Jacinto's air space. Tate was blowing apart bits of Reaver with an anti-aircraft Mulcher whilst Miles was protecting his back with a Mortar. The buildings around them shook as a missile embedded itself in a wall.

"Look out!" Miles hollered and heaved Tate away from the Mulcher as the side of the building broke apart.

As Tate gathered himself together on the floor Miles was back on his feet cranking the trajectory on the Mortar. He released the crank with a Woosh as the missile hit a Reaver on its back. It reeled and screamed in agony as it turned its anger towards its attackers. Tate, now back on the Mulcher blasted the Reaver to pieces before it could let off another missile. The pair let out a whoop of pleasure whilst they reloaded their weapons for the next onslaught.

"Gents I bring news," Wilks announced as Cam took over on the Mulcher so the other two could be updated on the situation.

"Jacinto's pretty fucked. The Locust have tunnelled underneath the city and are planning on sinking it. The city is in full evacuation mode."

"What?!" Tate exclaimed.

"Tate I would suggest that wherever you are smuggling Sofie you need to inform her and get her to an evac site as soon as possible. We're on sweeping duties at the Colonel's commands. He wants us to be on the last Raven out of here so no chance to collect loved ones or treasured things. So whilst you're herding Sofie, Tate can I ask you to gather our things and get it on a Raven with her."

Tate nodded in confirmation then hesitantly continued, "She's pregnant Wilks."

Wilks paused momentarily, "Well then all the more reason for you to get her out of here now."

"She told me this morning, I was so happy but it wasn't the right time to tell anyone. It's never the right time. Well better late than never,"

"Now is not the time for congratulations. I'll be the first person to get you a drink when we're safely evacuated."

"I'll hold you to that," Tate gave him a goofy smile as he turned to jog away to Sofie.

"Poor deluded fool," Miles muttered between reloading.

"Well someone needs to be happy, why not him," Wilks let out a blast of gunfire at another incoming Reaver.

"He'll never see it comin'," Cam added as he took cover to reload whilst Wilks continued firing.

"What about your pretty young thing Sarge?" Miles asked him, partly in curiosity partly in concern.

"She chose her family Miles," Wilks responded with a hint of regret in his voice, "it was the right thing in the end. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt less."

"I'm sorry man," Miles seemed genuinely upset at the news, "I actually liked her. One of the few people who could actually handle Sofie for a change."

"Yeah well you get my ugly mug instead,"

"So how long are we defending the air if the city is falling from below?" Miles asked.

"The Locust are throwing everything at us to prevent us from flooding our own defences, we lose the air we lose our major evacuation route. We'll remain here until we're relieved by Sigma Three."

"Those idiots don't know their ass from their elbow. We've worked so hard at maintaining our advantage here why give it to those dumbasses."

"Because we have our orders Miles," Wilks was sharper than usual, "This isn't a joke, if we don't run a sweep we could miss people who will die the moment we sink the city. And I've seen far too many people fall to their doom down big ass holes recently to be comfortable with."

* * *

><p>Aidan stood in the long never ending line of civilians waiting to board the next departing Raven. The atmosphere was filled with fear and tension as someone further down the queue pushed forwards sending a domino effect through the line. There were shouts of anger in response and a fight started. Another fight which will resolve nothing. She watched as the men drew apart bloodied and panting and continued standing in the same damn line as if nothing had happened.<p>

Frost sat in the wheelchair with a giant bag filled with his medication on his lap, he wrapped a free arm around her waist and smiled back at her. She returned a smile but somehow she felt it forced.

What was she doing?

Her family chatted in front of her as Brewer edged forward in the queue. Her brother was joking with David and Lem as they messed with Angelo who was also in a wheelchair. Eli caught her watching them and sent her a concerned look mouthing the words 'You Okay' to her. She closed her eyes and turned slightly away so he couldn't see her misery.

She recalled the previous night when Frost had bared his soul to her. Before she had even had the chance to respond Wilks had retreated away leaving her to make the hardest decision in her life, which Frost had taken as an admitted defeat from the soldier. She had suspected that something was wrong with Frost long before he had even admitted it to her. That night she sat and listened to him whisper sweet nothings to her, showering her with kisses and admitting his true hidden feelings after all these times. He told her that he wanted to be with her and that he was very likely dying. Sixteen years of loyalty and friendship told her to stay with him to the bitter end. But her heart told her that her decision was wrong.

As another Raven took off with its cargo hold rammed with civilians, those remaining on the ground started shouting and throwing rocks at it.

Frost squeezed Aidan's hand encouraging her to open her eyes to look back at him. He then lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. Not so long ago when her hormones had once controlled her emotions she would have loved nothing more than to spend this precious time with Frost as a couple. She couldn't understand why now her stomach was twisting in nervousness at his touch when she had never felt this way around him before. She fought back the feeling of regret and leaned down to him to adjust the bag on his lap.

The queue shuffled forward a few more steps as two more Ravens landed nearby and the next lot of civilians were ushered into them. Gears walked the line counting people as they went, they started shouting about using the boats and ferries in the Marina. People further down the queue opted for the water route and departed in the hope of escaping sooner. The more dedicated remained steadfast in the line.

A heavily pregnant woman just in front of them plonked herself on the ground in exhaustion, rubbing her belly. A small child beside her reached out to her and wrapped his tiny chubby arms around her.

"That'll be us soon," Frost commented watching the woman with warm regard.

It took Aidan a moment to realise what he was talking about. She looked at the pregnant woman with her child and every part of her shuddered. Had Frost really become one of those men that had seen her as nothing more than a breeding machine? When had he changed into this person?

"What?" she quietly asked, hoping to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"I wonder how long we'll wait?" he spoke half to himself half to her, "well I suppose if I _am_ dying it might be best to get you pregnant quickly."

She plucked her hand away from him and stepped back.

"No," she uttered firmly.

Frost looked confused unaware that he'd done anything wrong, "What?"

"No," This time she was certain of her actions and her common sense had kicked in.

"Okay, well if you prefer we could always see how I am medically and perhaps wait a few months. We don't have to start straight away,"

"You're not listening Wash. _That_ is not me, I am not a breeding machine," She took another step away from him.

"Maybe you'll change your mind once we're out of Jacinto," Frost reached a hand out to her in an attempt to patch things up, "It'll be an inevitable thought once we settle down."

"For who Wash? For me?" She snapped, "Or for you?"

"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted this," he looked confused as if at some point in some conversation they had been speaking a different language.

"When did I ever say that I wanted to settle down and have a family?" she could feel her temper start to boil.

"I just thought that since you and I..."

"Since what Wash? Since you decided into emotionally tricking me into staying with you that I would be happy to throw everything away just so you could reproduce?"

"Did sixteen years not mean anything to you? Did you not feel anything at all?" He asked wheeling himself towards her.

"Of course I did. But I was a kid. I'm not anymore" she let out a heavy sigh and lowered her voice, "Look Wash these past few weeks we have both seen things that neither of us are willing to talk about. Once upon a time we wouldn't have hesitated to have opened up about the nightmares we had seen. Doesn't that speak volumes for how we've drifted apart? I will always be fond of you Wash but we just don't want the same thing."

"What?" Frost's jaw dropped in shock, when had he gone wrong?

She took a step towards Brewer, "Lieutenant did Sergeant Wilks sign those papers?"

"He did, it's just waiting for your signature," Brewer commented. He had been watching the scene carefully between the pair and had been half expecting her to change her mind.

"Do you have a pen?" she took the document and a pen and started signing.

"Aidan don't do this," Frost begged attempting to get to his feet, "We can work this out. If you don't want children that's fine, but I want to be with you. I love you."

"Don't you see Wash," she said as she started signing the relevant pages in relief at seeing Wilks' scrawl, "It's never been about love."

"Of course it has, you've been smitten about that soldier the moment you and he left us at that Stranded Camp,"

She finished signing her name on the last page and handed it back to the Lieutenant.

"It has never been about love, it's about Survival. There is nowhere left to run to Wash, and I just want to survive. Wilks is the only one who can give me a chance at that. I will always be grateful of our childhood together but you cannot give me what I need anymore. I don't love you Frost and it's foolish to think that it should take precedent over a chance at survival."

"I'm dying Aida, if these drugs don't work I am dead in days. You should have just left us at that Stranded Camp to die, it would have been less painful than this,"

"Don't be that person Frost," her face showed nothing but pity and it made him feel worse, "I am sorry I have to do it this way but you have left me with no other choice. I have to think about myself now."

Eli had approached her, witnessing the entire confrontation silently. Aidan hesitated when she saw her twin looking back at her.

"Eli," she uttered, "I _have_ to do this."

He grabbed hold of her and hugged her tightly, "I wondered when you were going to come to your senses. Frost was never the right choice."

She squeezed him back in return, "I will miss you Elijah forever and always."

"Don't you go dying now otherwise I'll be tracking Wilks down and kicking his ass,"

Lem took her in an embrace before she had even realised he was there.

"I'm a man so I'm not going to cry," He murmured into her neck.

She turned to the Lieutenant and saluted him, "Thank you for everything."

"It's been an honour," he returned the salute.

She returned to Frost whose eyes were filled with tears as he looked sullenly at the ground. She leaned over him and placed a hand on his cheek, planting a kiss on his forehead.

"You will always be my brother Frost,"

He took hold of her hand, "Don't."

A Gear nearby yelled at the group that there was room available in the next Raven. The boys started loading themselves into the craft as the soldiers assisted both Angelo and Frost into the cargo bay. Aidan stood and watched as Brewer counted his remaining survivors and fixed himself in place. Other civilians joined them, squeezing as tightly as they could into the craft. Frost refused to meet her eyes for one final time as the cargo bay doors slammed shut. Still she remained in place as the rotors on the Raven started up and the craft took to the air taking the only family she ever knew away from her forever.

* * *

><p>"Lightmass is online Sergeant, once you've completed the sweep rendezvous at the EZ," the voice in Wilks' ear barked.<p>

"Copy that Colonel," he responded.

Wilks ran a search through the next building calling into the burning wreck, "Any civilians here make yourself known. We are evacuating Jacinto you need to leave now."

He clambered onto the street and communicated with his squad, "How's it going Tango?"

"Nothing here except dead Grub bodies Sarge," Tate chirped back.

"Only human remains here," Miles returned.

"Cam?"

Static hissed back at him.

"Cam do you read me?"

"B...sh...gr..."

"Cam do you need assistance?" Wilks readied his Lancer and headed toward the direction of his medic.

The static cleared to reveal a message full of expletives, Wilks stood down.

"Cam for fuck sake!" He yelled back.

"Jus' got jumped by three kids 'iding in a building. But before I could git t' em the ground gave way and I lost em all!"

"Shit, I'm sorry Cam, you okay?"

"The sooner we git out of Jacinto the better,"

"Couldn't agree more. I've just had a message from Colonel Hoffman and as soon as we've completed the sweep we can fall back to the Evac Zone."

"About bloody time!"

* * *

><p>It took a while for Aidan to figure out where she was going considering she knew very little about Jacinto and that most of it was falling apart. As her first choice she sprinted in the general direction of the barracks to hunt out the sleeping quarters. But the moment she caught sight of Locust inside the building she knew she was not going to find Wilks.<p>

The streets were crumbling beneath her feet every step she made cracks splintered their way down the streets. She stepped quickly and lightly. However there seemed to be no Gear to ask for directions. Panic seeped through, had she in fact missed out on the evacuation? Was she left to the Locust's mercy?

Making a final decision she headed to the only other evacuation site she could remember in the hope someone still remained.

* * *

><p>Hoffman saluted Wilks as he took the neighbouring Raven into the air.<p>

"All clear Sergeant, you may now evacuate,"

"You heard the man," Wilks called to the pilot.

Wilks' squad assisted an elderly straggler to his seat in the Raven and strapped him in place. They then took their places around him. Wilks took one final look at the destruction that once was Jacinto and boarded the craft, tapping the cockpit as a confirmation to take off.

The Raven's rotors slowly starting winding and swishing as it built up momentum. Wilks hooked his arm through the support strap hanging from the roof of the craft and peered out over the city as they lifted up. He caught something running towards them waving its arms frantically.

"Cam do you see this?" he called to the Islander, who unplugged himself to peer over the ledge.

"Grubs perhaps?"

"Since when have Locust waved?" he leaned over to the pilot, "Can you circle round for me. There's something out there and I want a closer look."

"You think it's a survivor?" Miles asked.

"We can't land folks," the pilot reported back, "The ground is too unstable and Lightmass detonation is imminent."

"Get the sling Miles and lower me down," Wilks ordered.

They strapped Wilks in and connected him to the winch lowering him from the Raven as it hovered overhead. It gave him a chance to take in the person running towards him.

"You have to be kidding me," he muttered to himself shaking his head in bemusement.

Aidan sprinted towards him as the ground crumbled behind her.

"Wilks!" she shouted at him.

"That's some bloody time keeping you've got kid," he yelled back.

"I signed it, you're my guardian now!" she drew to a halt as the road in front of her gave way.

"Take it down a little lower for me," Wilks called back to the pilot who instantly obliged, "You're going to have to jump Aidan."

Aidan looked around her, there was no other choice.

"I can't," she called back.

"If you think I'm doing some heroic idiotic move to save your ass again you got another think coming," Wilks yelled.

"Detonation Countdown in ten!" Cam screamed down at him.

"I'm crap at jumping Wilks,"

"Well it's a good thing I'm good at catching!" He adjusted himself in the sling, "We're on countdown Aide, you're going to have to jump now."

"Five!" Cam continued the countdown to him.

She took a few steps backwards judging where she should make her move.

"Three!"

"Here goes," she breathed out.

"Two!"

She started to run one foot in front of the other each step closer to her jump.

"One!"

A giant unearthly scream sounded all around her, bringing back nightmares of the glowing Berserker that had chased them from the cave not so long ago. A massive explosion beneath her feet made her stumble slightly and she lost her footing. The ground gave way around her and she felt herself fall.

A hand grabbed her arm and hoisted her upwards. She opened her eyes and swung her other arm up to grip hold of Wilks tightly.

"Told you I was good at catching," he smirked at her then called up to his squad, "Reel us in guys."

They hung from the Raven and watched as Jacinto crumbled to the hollows. Within minutes the sea defences broke apart and the ocean rushed in swallowing everything in its path. A city that had held on for so long reduced to nothing in a matter of minutes.

Tango Twelve pulled Aidan inside and helped Wilks unhook himself from the sling. He dropped himself to the Raven's bench seat in exhaustion then pointed to Aidan now seated opposite him.

"You," he said, "are going to kill me some day."

The Raven banked, revealing the city's destruction to the entire occupants of the craft. The pilot adjusted the direction and headed towards their next unknown destination.

She closed her eyes and let the cooling air drift over her face, the rotors thudding quietly in the background. A distinctive smell of earthy destruction wafted around them. Eventually she opened her eyes to take in her new guardian as he watched the skyline in silence, the wind blowing through his tufts of hair. He looked thoughtful.

"What's next?" She asked him, unsure on the answer.

He turned to her and gave her a knowing smile, "We survive."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes-<strong>

Well here it is, the final chapter of this labour of love. I have really enjoyed writing this fic and I am happy that even though it has taken four years to write it, it is finally here for you to read. For whoever may want to read it. I am glad that I have shared this with you and I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Thank you to those who have left comments, I know there are few of you but it has been appreciated.

I almost didn't even want to post this because this chapter would end so many years of writing development and Gears immersing. Which is why I have made the decision to write a sequel. Currently I am in the early stages of piecing a plot line together and four chapters have been written. So those of you who may be interested in reading the continuing adventures of these characters please feel free to follow and watch this space.


End file.
